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Four months to Christmas! It’s hard to believe but it’s almost that magical time of year already. As wonderful as Christmas is, and don’t get me wrong I love it and it’s a great holiday but it can be very financially stressful on families and it doesn’t really need to be as bad as we sometimes make it. So I’m going to give you a list of my top tips to ease some of the money worries and overspending. We all need to be saving money this Christmas.
Ways for you to be saving money this Christmas
1). You have to make a list.
Everyone you need to shop for goes on that list and a general idea of how much you would like to spend. That way you can know an estimated budget of how much you’re probably going to spend on gifts and adjust before shopping. List who you are going to shop for family and friends also any foods you are bringing to places because that adds up too. If you want your total to be only $250 for everyone and after your list, your total is closer to $300 than start figuring out how to cut costs now. Don’t spend the money and then stress out about it.
2). You don’t have to buy a gift for everyone.
Make presents if you can. My family loves homemade gifts from my daughter just as much as some present that we could buy them and the cost of materials to make gifts is usually a lot cheaper than purchasing gifts. School photos as ornaments are usually a big hit or a tin of homemade cookies works too.
3). Cut down your list of who to buy for.
With a large extended family, we don’t shop for everyone names go in a bowl and you get a name and buy for one person. Little kids are excluded from that because they are who we really want to shop for. So in my family, my husband and I end up shopping for two kids and two adults instead of six adults and two kids. Cuts down a lot.
4). Keep an eye out for sales.
While birthday shopping for my daughter I found a really cute jacket she’d love on clearance for less than $10 it will make a great Christmas gift and better than paying full price near Christmas. Search clearance racks and black Friday sales
5). Save up money in the months ahead
We often do a no spend month during the year and use some of the savings from that month to put towards Christmas shopping.
Also you can start saving a small ammount monthly or each pay period in the months leading up to Christmas. If you want to be saving month this Christmas you have to find little ways to save up or make extra to put aside.
6). Try to remember to focus on memories rather than money.
Going to look at Christmas lights, hot chocolate and watching Christmas movies, free Christmas events in the area are more fun for our kids than expensive events and presents. What can you do as a family or to celebrate without spending a lot?
7). It’s hard not to but try not to compare yourself and try and keep up with other families.
You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to do it all. Trying to have it all. Don’t let people make you feel guilty for not buying enough or for everyone. Do what you can. Don’t put yourself in debt over a Holiday by trying to do as much as the other people you see around you.
8. Sign up for Rakuten, formally known as Ebates.
Using this link here. When you use Rakuten you save money on online purchases. You can also use Honey to check for online deals. I love to shop online and so it’s important to save as much as I can.
Most of the gifts on my stocking stuffers for men and stocking stuffers for women are inexpensive so if you are looking for gift ideas that won’t be too pricey start there.
I think sometimes we all forget that Christmas shouldn’t all be about getting and having and that we need to strike a balance. Saving money this Christmas doesn’t mean that you won’t have an enjoyable holiday.
Even if you have a lot of money. It’s still important to balance all that you get and are able to give your families and also making good memories and doing good for others.
Kelly says
I completely agree with Christmas shopping year round!
xx
Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
Angel the Alien says
Totally agree that Christmas shouldn’t be all about presents at all. I can only remember my very favorite Christmas presents from childhood… a Cabbage Patch doll when I was 5, for instance, and an AG Bear when I was 8… but my BEST memories are of having a fire in the fire place and drinking egg nog, with the tree all lit up, while my dad played oldies Christmas carols on the record player.
Michelle Strain says
I would agree to not stress over a holiday. Last year my husband and I started some new traditions for our holidays, and those are going to be the thongs our kids remember most about Christmas, not all the presents under the tree. We have our friends and family come over and do arts and crafts with the kids and let them decorate my tree. I also tell people not to bring anything, as this is my party and I’m inviting them it is not their responsibility to pay for my party, so if you’re going to a party check with your host/hostess to see if you are expected to bring anything, they may not want you to. Picking items up throughout the year is a great habit to get unto. It may be harder to do that for teenagers, but for hung children and adults it makes life easy, AND ALWAYS check sales racks.
Michelle Strain says
One last thing before I forget, don’t forget to Take advantage of your local dollar stores as well. That where I buy most of the items I need for my Christmas Party and you can always pick up decent stocking stuffer items. They sell gift tags, bows wrapping paper, tape, and basically anything else you can think of that will be needed for Christmas as well.
Jana says
something me and my husband do is set aside $50 each month. so by the time december gets here, we have $600 for christmas spending. we use that for our budget and only spend $600 for all things related to christmas.
Bernadette says
Great list! We are following most of the tips already. Remember, don’t buy just anything so you have a gift to give. Otherwise it just becomes more clutter in someone else’s house. This year we are also giving experiences as gifts. A pair of movie tickets or a gift card for something you can do together will make a great gift for the kids!
jackie says
Totally agree! and tip #6 the best tip ever making memories with family there are a lot of things you can do without spending to much money, I’ve learner how to make apple butter and jams and my family looks forward to that now. Thank you for your tips!
Jenn Rian says
We LOVE Christmas at our house! We’re big into the traditions and magic, so for #6 we definitely go all out. But that’s only possible because we’re not big into gifting. Our kids get 3-4 gifts and we don’t get gifts for anyone else. This way we can use our time doing fun family activities and our money for charitable giving 🙂
I agree that getting gifts early/on sale is a big help. For the few that we do get I keep my eye out on ebay and Craigslist year round and I put other things in my Amazon shopping cart and check it often to see if the price reduced 🙂
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Angela Pounders says
Great article! With my daughter’s birthday just a few months after Christmas, I usually pick up stuff for her during all of the sales. Love the idea of homemade items. The children can really get involved that way!
Louisa Mercado says
I have the same goals this year. I’ve started on a list and have been keeping my eyes open for sales. Great post!
Shirley Wood says
I sure do miss old fashioned Christmas’ when it wasn’t all about the gifts! Good luck with the No spend November. I’d like to do that myself!
Sandra says
I always have the problem, that when I buy a present for one person, the other one needs to get one as well -.-
But my parents always tell me not to buy anything, because they know I am short of money, for them the nicest present is, is when I am home over Christmas 🙂
Have a lovely sunday evening!
sarah sofia knepp says
Great advice, especially since it’s so hard to be tempted to buy something for your kids or someone else that ends up putting you over budget! I found Elsa & Anna costumes and Olaf stuffed animal at Target last month, which are hard to find during holiday season, and I’m saving it for the girl’s Christmas gifts. If I start buying earlier or through out the year then it’s not such a big blow to my budget.
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Karen says
I will be saving money on Christmas by making home-made goodies. Also, I like the idea of putting names into a hat and picking and shopping for 1 person. It is really great to have a denomination for what the spending will be for gifts!
Natalie says
These are great tips! I tend to completely go overboard if I don’t have a budget–it’s just so hard when the perfect gift is just a little more than what you wanted to spend! 🙂
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Jen says
I was just thinking about Christmas lists today – my income is super limited so I feel like I either have to save extra money into a Christmas fund or start my Christmas shopping now! Thanks for posting these awesome tips.
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Karissa says
I hope they help.
Lynda @MommyPowers aka: Sandy Gram says
Thanks for all the tips, every little bit helps!
Jane Saunders says
I normally don’t like to start thinking about Christmas at this point in time. However, you’ve shared some fabulous tips and reminders. With that said, I’m going to contact my sister in law today and suggest we do the name drawing way ahead of time. Thank you!!
Karissa says
I’m glad my tips help.
Sharon Rowe says
I try to buy gifts that are useful, I would rather give someone a basket of food I know they could eat rather than an item that might never see the light of day and could clutter up someones home.
Nickely Challenged says
So, so informative. It will definitely come in handy this Christmas. Thanks for sharing.
chris - what i run into says
Terrific tips! We do #3 as well on my mom’s side. We’ve got a huge extended family and anyone who has graduated college and holds a FT job gets put into the fishbowl!
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Pamela says
Great Article! I always look for deals all year round. I especially like to shop AFTER the holidays. Then I can put things away for next year without breaking the bank!
Karissa says
That’s when I like to get Holiday decorations. They are like 50% off right after Christmas.
Amy @ A Healthy Life For Me says
Great article. I like to try and shop after the holidays, when the real deals show up.
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Nicole says
I definitely agree with each and every one of your great ideas for saving money at Christmas. Thank you for linking up at the #HomeMattersParty this week.
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Crystal Green says
These are some very practical tips. I find all kinds of sales online, and it’s a life saver when you shop for Christmas all year long.
iMom Guide says
Great article and very helpful informative.
Online Figure says
Outstanding tips for saving money on Christmas.
Thank you for your tips!
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