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by Hope

With the holiday season upon us and Thanksgiving around the corner, I am ready for Christmas. I’m specifically ready to start Christmas shopping.

In previous years we purchase or make the Texas side of the family’s gifts by Thanksgiving so that we can take them when we go versus paying for shipping. I’ve decided that this year, I would like to have all Christmas shopping prior to Thanksgiving.

I have asked the kids to all send me Christmas lists. And I told the twins that Santa thinks they still live at home…so he won’t deliver there. (That was meant to be funny.)

October Challenge

As a result, my October challenge to myself…complete my Christmas shopping for my kiddos and my family in Texas. That will give me the first half of November to wrap them, decorate the house and generally be ready for Christmas.

It will take a lot of pressure of the holiday season if my house is decorated and shopping done before we leave for Texas at Thanksgiving.

Since I already have my Christmas funds saved and have had them earmarked since earlier in the year, the financial aspect of this goal is:

1. Stay on budget.
2. Find a “wow” gift for each child that doesn’t break the bank – that’s always my challenge.
3. Research some unique DIY gifts that aren’t just a “gift for the sake of a gift.” I lean toward practical.
4. Enjoy this valid reason for doing a little shopping. It’s not an opportunity that I give myself very often.

I will most likely save $20ish dollars to cover some candy or last minute little things that I won’t want to buy this early. But otherwise, I plan to go into November really prepared and more than that really to just enjoy the time and holiday spirit.

Twin’s Birthday Month

The twins birthday is also this month. It is already budgeted and saved for. In addition to gifts, we always do a family meal out. I am listening carefully as they talk about their new apartment for clues. Otherwise, I will rely on their Christmas lists to guide me in picking out a gift for each of them.

Hope

Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.

But life has a way of rewriting your plans.

A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.

Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.

Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.

She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.