It’s the same story every year around the holidays. You make a list of the items you’d like to give to each person on your list. Unfortunately those items don’t all cost the same amount, and in an effort to be “fair” you end up spending more than you planned. This year, consider giving gift cards; it's a great way to stick to your budget for gift giving.

If your family is like most, every member of the family has their own interests. Purchasing a gift card for each person can save you a lot of time, traveling, and headache finding just the perfect gift. Giving a gift card will also allow each person to purchase exactly what they want rather than being faced with returning a gift that wasn’t right.

You’ll still want to make a list of items each person would like as gifts. Instead of planning to purchase the items, however, you can compare lists and determine what is a fair amount for everyone’s gift cards.

Most likely you won’t spend the same amount on a small child as you would a teenager because their interests are so different. Let’s face it; a child is going to want toys for the holiday, and they don’t cost anywhere near as much as a new mp3 player. Of course, you can give children a gift card for the same amount of money, but they honestly won’t know the difference unless someone explains it to them.

Another benefit of buying gift cards for holiday giving is that you can spread the cost out over a period of time. Depending upon how many people you have to buy for, start a month or so in advance and get a gift card a week.

Be careful, however, as some gift cards will expire in a specific period of time. Those cards will be the ones you purchase last. You can also set aside a certain amount of money each week to purchase gift cards closer to the holiday.

Gift cards are also a good idea because the person receiving the card can get more for the same amount of money if they hit the after Christmas sales. They may have to wait for a day or so after the holiday to get the item they want, but if they receive more than one gift card they can combine them to purchase a higher-priced item.

Finally, the recipient isn’t limited to shopping at a local store. Most, if not all, gift cards can be used for online shopping. They can look at the retailer’s website to see if the item they want is on sale and save enough they can purchase more than one item.

Financial times are tough all over, so you may be thinking about how to cut back on your holiday spending. Gift cards can help you in this regard. Consider giving gift cards; they are a great way to stick to your budget for holiday spending.