The holidays are upon us, and I don’t know about you but they always seem to creep up on me! This means I’m not always as financially prepared as I would like to be. Our family loves celebrating Christmas, and we like to go all out, but what I don’t like is the deficit that it usually leaves in our bank account. If not carefully planned out, the holidays can be a huge hit to a family budget. However, with some careful planning and creativity it may be much easier to save than you thought! Here are 7 tips I’ve come across that can help every family free up a little cash for the holidays.
1. Gift your talents. Everyone is good at something! Why not gift your skills this season? Whether you can bake a mean pie, build cabinets, sew a quilt, or you’re great at taking care of kids, you can offer your services or make a gift for the ones you love. Don’t underestimate the meaning behind such gifts – most family and friends will appreciate them more than if you had purchased something at a store. By providing your services, you may just be saving your friends and family some money too!
2. Recycle old electronics. Do you have old electronics laying around like cell phones, MP# players, cameras and the like? You can make the most of them by using a rewards-through-recycling program and save money. Through these eco-friendly programs, like MaxBack.com or RecycleBank.com, you exchange used electronic units for points toward the purchase of other items, including gift cards! At MaxBack, you can even donate your points to schools and nonprofits. Save money and help the environment! it’s a win-win!
3. Stop all unnecessary spending for 2 months. It might seem impossible, but lots of families are trying this approach to save. Choose two months out of the year and cut all unnecessary spending. This would include no eating out, purchasing clothes, going to the movies, or any dates and entertainment that costs money. You can take your lunch to work, carpool to save gas budget your groceries to the bare minimum. You might be surprised how much you’ll save just by refraining from these activities! Use the money you save towards the holidays!
4. Create a Christmas Closet. Where do you keep all of your leftover wrapping paper, gift bags and ribbon from Christmas, birthdays and showers? How about gifts you’ve received but have no use for? Hopefully you keep them stored away in what I like to call a “Christmas Closet”. Throughout the year, I will also purchase toys and gifts if they are on sale and store them in the closet to gift at a later time. Before you shop for the holidays, check your closet and you may be surprised at what you already have!
5. Buy the same thing for multiple people. Keep it simple! If you enjoy giving gifts to your crossing guard, teacher, librarian, bus driver and co-workers….get them all the same thing! If mittens are on sale, buy 10 pairs. Bath & Body Works once had a huge sale, so all the ladies in my life got lotion for Christmas! Pajamas on sale? Buy them for all your nieces and nephews. This game plan will save you time and money!
6. Move the holiday! It might sound crazy, but you don’t have to celebrate on the designated calendar date of a holiday! Instead of December 25th, push your gift exchanges closer to January 1st. My husband and I did this a couple times and took advantage of after Christmas sales to buy one another’s gifts. We still celebrated Christmas on the 25th, but saved our gift giving for a few days later. This is also a great idea for extended family and friends. Have them over a few days after Christmas, and save!
7. Save those Credit Card Rewards. Using credit cards can have its advantages, especially when they are low-interest with rewards. Use your credit card through out the year and rack up those reward points! By the end of the year, you will be surprised how many points you’ve earned, and you can typically trade them in for gift cards and or products, which make great gifts!
