It's no secret that holiday shopping is kind of an outrageous occasion for college students. We're all borderline broke (or just, honestly, flat out broke), we've been surviving on cheap food, and suddenly we're faced with two hugely momentous events: finals, and shopping for friends and family.

Honestly, I don't remember getting my Christmas shopping done for the last three years of college because it was all just a panicked, last-minute, bargain-hunting blur. But this year I decided to document it, because I actually got a jump on it all for once, and it's kind of a terrifying experience.

So here are the five stages of holiday shopping that you will no doubt go through every year, block it out because it was so horrible, and then do it all again the next December.

1. Trying to figure out how many people you have to shop for.

Parents, siblings, roommates, best friends, extended family.....wait, what?!

2. Trying to get everyone the gifts they deserve while staying in a budget.

I just wanna get my mom everything and my best friend deserves a castle....but I only have enough money for, like, one pack of gum per person. Maybe.

3. Balancing your Christmas shopping budget with your real life budget.

Surprisingly, things like bills and grocery shopping and gas don't just take a vacation during the holiday shopping season. Who knew? My bank account was a little shocked.

4. Being afraid to look at your bank account after you're done shopping.

I don't even want to know how much damage I just did.

5. When you can't do anything fun to blow off steam at the end of the semester because you're flat broke.

Meanwhile, we all watch those people who somehow have an unlimited source of money coming from somewhere going out multiple times a week.

So writing this stressed me out just a little bit, but fear not--it's almost the holidays, and it'll be worth it when you see people you love open your gifts. And it's almost time for break--you'll be working and making that money back. Try not to sweat it too much.