Holiday Spending Tips & Tricks
At the risk of sounding like a Grinch, I’ll be frank when I say I loathe the Holidays with every bone in my body. It’s not that I hate the songs, or the decorations, or even the presence of family. It’s not having millions of dollars to lavish my loved ones with. I think we all wish we had a little extra cash, especially around the Holidays. So what do we do with this anxiety? Wait until January?
But what if there was another way?
Maybe there is! The holidays don’t have to be so stressful this year if you plan accordingly. Here I’ve highlighted some tips on staying sane in the rush, and most importantly, keeping your head above financial water.
Write a List of Names
When you write down all your family members, friends, significant other, & more, you can see clearly your task ahead. I’m a planner and a list maker, so putting down my swimming thoughts onto paper helps not only calm my anxiety, but give me solid goals that are achievable one person at a time.
Make a budget, and stick to it!
I usually take the names I wrote to try to make an estimate of how much – TOPS – I should be spending on each gift. Although some are more than others from sales and split costs, having a solidified spending budget helps keep you on track so your spending doesn’t go completely out of hand.
Split the Cost
My sisters and I love this tip. Since there are so many of us, money is spread a little thinner for each gift. If either of us thinks of something more expensive the person would love, we split the cost and put both our names on it. I’ve even done this three and four ways for really pricey gifts! Honestly, this has saved me money on numerous occasions, not just the holidays. This works well for birthdays, graduations and weddings too!
Shop Online
I can’t stress enough how much I love the convenience of the corporate giant Amazon. They even do gift wrapping for a few extra dollars. Paying for an Amzon Prime account has helped tremendously. Not only do they deliver for free most of the time, but you can find deals that you can’t find in brick and mortar stores. Also, Cyber Monday has become a staple in recent times with the birth of E-commerce. Take advantage of it!
Shop Discount Stores
There are numerous times in which I’ve saved money by skipping the mall and going to Home Goods, Marshalls, or T.J. Maxx. Usually they have a wide selection of clothes, jewelry, purses, home décor, cooking utensils, bedding, and more! You would be surprised what you can find. I usually get picture frames or candles at T.J. Maxx to add another special layer to a gift for pennies on the dollar. You can even find expensive brands marked down from perfume to sports gear!
Go Easy on the Kids
Lets be honest – kids play with toys for about a day or two before they get bored and move on. They also don’t understand that a Barbie Dream House can cost an arm and a leg if you let yourself go too crazy on the kid gifts. In all honesty, they just want quantity, not quality. Something that I think tends to flip as you get older and wiser. Let their innocence go on as long as possible and save yourself the expenses on extravagant gifts they might not even fully appreciate.
Wrap Everything
This leads me into my last point. WRAP EVERYTHING. Christmas is more about the suspense, surprise and intrigue behind the gift. Wrapping each item individually builds on this idea and makes your gift seem more than it really is.
So whether you’re a penny pinching Grinch like me, or a Christmas guru extraordinaire, following these simple guidelines can help save you time, money, and frustration this season so we can all be a little jollier. Do you have any tips for saving money this Christmas?
