A cute couple in their mid 40's ride some cruiser bicycles around downtown Austin Texas, taking in the views and autumn foliage of the city. Horizontal image with copy space.
It’s that time of year again when our thoughts turn to holiday giving.
Unfortunately for many, this is also the time when we blow up our budget trying to get everyone the right gift.
You can still enjoy the spirit of giving if you use these 21 Christmas budgeting tips.
Remember, it’s never too late to start planning for the holiday.
The first thing you should do is determine how much you plan to spend for the holiday.
You should include the cost of gifts, parties, decorations, and meals when establishing your budget.
Once you have done this, make sure you determine what percentage of your overall budget you will use for each category.
Before you are asked to attend a holiday party, offer to host one yourself.
Instead of spending a lot of money, set it up as a pot luck with a gift swap.
This way, every person brings a single gift, and everyone gets to participate without feeling guilty.
Gift cards can be a great alternative to expensive presents and they allow the recipient to get whatever they want.
Rather than paying full price for a gift card, check out some of the sites available for discounts on these cards.
Some of these sites include:
Black Friday sales, online shopping offers, and Cyber Monday deals can be sweeter when you make sure you’re paying as little as possible.
Use these price trackers to find the best deals on the items you are shopping for!
You may not be aware of it but when you put items into an online shopping cart, the site tracks these items.
Oftentimes, if you have abandoned items in an online shopping cart, and you’ve registered with the site, you could get an incentive like free shipping, or be offered a promotional code to get you to purchase the items you’ve placed in the cart.
While you should try to pay cash for your holiday purchases, there may be times when it makes sense to use your credit card. If you use a card that offers cash back, you could be earning money for every dollar you spend.
If you have a cash back credit card, consider using the card for your purchases. Make sure you pay your bill in full, so you do not incur interest charges which would eliminate the cash back.
You can make your holiday dollars go further than ever by taking advantage of sites that reward you for your spending or offer rebates.
Some of the best sites to find coupons, earn cash back, and keep up with rebates are:
These sites can help you increase your Christmas budget whether you are shopping for food, clothing, or gift items.
In some instances, a retailer may be offering BOGO (buy one get one) items.
You should take advantage of these specials, or a special that offers buy one and get one at half price.
Make sure before you purchase these items you are getting a good deal. If you are getting a good deal, you could get two gifts for the price of one.
It pays to find the best price for something you were going to purchase anyway.
Whether you are comparison shopping on your own by reviewing sales flyers, online websites, or scouring social media for discounts, you can get a great deal if you know how to comparison shop.
There are several options for comparison shopping including:
If someone on your gift list is a collector, there are many options for finding low-cost gifts.
Whether someone collects post cards, tea cups, or clocks you can find great gifts for far less money than purchasing items at a retail store. Many thrift stores have treasure troves of items which you can give with complete confidence.
If you are making a purchase that is going to be expensive, think about getting another family member to share the cost. Any gift you opt to give can come from more than one person.
This option can help you stick to your Christmas budget while still providing a nice gift for a loved one.
Holiday card sharing can be expensive. Once you purchase cards, you still need to purchase postage to mail them.
Instead of spending money from your Christmas budget on holiday cards, consider using an electronic card instead. Not only can you use these sites free to send as many cards as you want, you can also use them to send thank you cards for gifts you may receive.
One of the advantages of these sites is you can create a single card, or multiple cards.
They are also great when you get a card from someone you didn’t expect one from, you can simply email a card in return.
For those who have a knack for crafts, this is a good time to put them to use.
Just keep in mind the cost of the material you are using, in some instances, it may be cheaper to buy an item than it is to make the item.
Even those who are not crafty can still give homemade gifts. Bake a batch of fancy cupcakes, make candy from scratch, or bake cookies and give them as gifts.
You can purchase low-cost gift bags from your local store, or you can purchase treat bags in bulk from various online sources.
We all have them — the items hanging around in drawers and closets from prior holidays and events which we never use.
If these are new items which you received, consider finding a suitable home for them. This will accomplish two things, you free up space and you can give a gift that costs you nothing.
If you have family members who are a lot younger than you, consider gifting your family history.
You can create a family tree, share family stories, and share information that other family members may not be aware of in a simple notebook.
This type of gift may be ideal for that family member who is difficult to buy for because they have everything, or because you are simply uncertain what they would enjoy.
There are gifts you can give to family members that cost little more than your time. You can create simple “certificates” on your home computer and offer your time in various ways.
Some of these include offering to take a family member on a shopping trip, babysitting for a young family who may not be able to afford a sitter and a night out, or preparing a meal for a single family member.
When you see items on sale, consider whether they would be a good fit for a gift.
Examples of items you may find on sale include hat and glove sets, cologne, small household appliances and more.
You can save a lot of money if you purchase these items when they are on sale, particularly if you can purchase them on sale for more than one person on your gift list.
Many of us tend to ignore the dollar stores when shopping for gifts, but this could be a mistake. You can create some great holiday gifts by taking advantage of items you find in the dollar store.
Some examples include:
Don’t be afraid to use your imagination when creating customized gift bags or boxes.
You can use baskets you have at home, or you can purchase a basket, gift bag, or even a bucket at the dollar store to stow all the items in.
If there are not a lot of children you are buying for, consider setting up a Yankee Swap. Not only will this help you meet your Christmas budgeting targets, it can also provide a lot of entertainment for those involved.
Make sure to set a dollar amount on gifts. Keep in mind, you can also specify a theme — for example, everyone brings a favorite food, something warm, etc. remember, this is supposed to be fun!
Another common Christmas budgeting challenge is decorating for the holidays.
Instead of stressing out over how much money decorations cost, consider repurposing household items for decorations or making your own.
Remember to take advantage of after Christmas sales to stock up on holiday decorations if you are not up to doing this annually!
Most of us feel that wrapping paper is a waste of money. However, there are inexpensive ways to wrap gifts that you may not have considered.
Visit your local dollar store and see if you can find rolls of plain brown or white paper and decorate them yourself. You can also consider purchasing disposable table cloths and cut them to use as wrapping paper.
These are often more cost-effective methods of wrapping gifts.
Remember, children generally do not care what their gifts are wrapped in so consider saving the comic portion of your weekly newspaper and using that for wrapping paper.
It is possible to enjoy the Christmas season without going into debt.
You can use some of these Christmas budgeting tips, or you can use all of them and save money for the new year.
The holidays should not be about taking on more debt and with these simple Christmas budgeting tips, you can save money on your holiday giving, decorating, and partying.
If you're having difficulty staying on top of your bills, I bet you can imagine…
Have you been getting collection calls or letters demanding that you pay an old debt?…
Today, American's have more than $1 Trillion in credit card debt. That's up $875 billion…
Budgeting is difficult, and just plain stressful for most people. No one wants to sit…
When the time comes to put your hard earned money into an account to save…
Nobody wants to be in debt. But, it's very easy to find yourself in over…