This is a good week to carve out time for a crucial conversation about a topic that will help new couples navigate their first holiday season (or, be a great reminder if you’ve been around the holiday block a few times). Because whatever your budget is, being on the same holiday-spending page goes a long way toward being a united team during a wonderful—but potentially stressful—time of year.
Questions to consider:
💰Is your partner’s gift-giving focused on immediate fam and inner-circle friends, or are cousins, aunts, colleagues, and the mailman also included?
💰 Does your partner envision gifting items that are from both of you, or do they want to give individual presents?
💰If your salaries are really different, will you both be OK if one outspends the other?
💰Do you want to set a spending limit on gifts for each other? Where your spending circle has potentially doubled in size, consider how much you want to spend (in total) as a couple, work backward, and figure out how much you want to spend on specific people (and each other😉). A happy byproduct of this convo is that you can get creative together! For example...if your budget doesn’t allow for buying for everyone, fill in gaps with low- to no-cost displays of affection like donating your time and effort. Gifting projects like building your future-mother-in-law an Etsy store to sell her art; cooking a friend’s three fave meals for a week away from their kitchen; or offering to babysit so your besties can have a date night, are great ways to connect with each other while also giving to your loved ones. Find a happy middle ground where you can keep all the joy, spontaneity and romance that comes with holiday giving—but give it a healthy shot of pragmatism to avoid issues and strengthen your teamwork.
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