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Although this is coming out right before Christmas Day, this may be in time to catch some of you last-minute shoppers. This time of year, people spend an exorbitant amount of money on Christmas gifts. the average American ’s spending on gifts per year has increased significantly over the years. However, if you are working on a budget and trying to limit yourself, these tips will help you with saving money on Christmas gifts. Most of us want to make sure that all of our family has an amazing Christmas. But the thing that we fail to realize is that this doesn’t necessarily have to come at a cost.
The season is meant to spend time together and enjoy the company of family that we may not see all the time. That isn’t to say that you can’t get the perfect gift for everybody but it may take some planning. Finding a good balance of what you can fit into your budget can be a challenge. Here are some of the best tips that I have found with saving money on Christmas gifts for the whole family.
Create a Christmas list for others
This is one of the easiest tips on the list. Create a Christmas (shopping) list I think that you would like to get for family and friends. The earlier you start this the better. if you are able to create this even a month or two ahead of time, you’ll be able to shop for better deals. This will also help reduce impulse spending which can have a drastically negative impact on your budget. Saving money on
Stick to a gift budget
Where the tip before was the easiest on the list, this one is the most important. Like was stated above, we often want to find that perfect gift which can cost more than we may plan. That is why these two tips are back-to-back. Creating the Christmas list helps with impulse buying, and sticking to the budget helps to prevent you feeling like your going to go into a financial crisis. Setting a budget will create the opportunity to be more creative with your gift-giving. This can be either with setting money aside each month to go into a Christmas fund or going through your current budget to know what you can spend above your normal monthly expenditures.
Although I usually recommend setting money aside each month for the Christmas fund, this may not be feasible every month. As added costs will creep up. life gets in the way at times in some months you may forget. If you are even able to set money aside for a few months of the year, that can have a great impact on your budget overall. You can also have a frank conversation with your family as far as what the expectation is and if spending limits should be implemented.
Use a credit card that gives points back
Now, this tip comes with one caveat, you should not be using your credit card as a crutch to spend more than you normally would. If this is something that you normally do, I would recommend reading the article on my top five tips for using a credit card. I do recommend paying off your credit card every month to reduce the amount of interest that you have to pay if any. But with using a credit card that gives you points back, you are able to save some money. We currently use a Disney credit card which gives us money back at about 1%. Although this doesn’t seem like a lot it does add up over the year especially this time of year.
Shop sales ahead of time
Once you’ve created a Christmas shopping list, you can start searching for the best deals. Ideally, it should be a couple months ahead of time so that you are able to score some of the best deals around Black Friday. However, knowing where you need to shop can help you stack coupons along with it such as at Kohls. Some of the best deals of the year are actually right around December 18th. So you should be always on the lookout and trying to plan ahead. If you were last minute shopping, coupon deals tend to be the best strategy. Sometimes this can be as simple as free shipping.
Use Ebates or Swagbucks to get money back
This tip is similar to the credit card; but instead, you’re using Ebates or Swagbucks to get money back. There are other services out there that can be used to get a percentage back but these tend to be the most common. Both are super simple ineffective ways with saving money on Christmas gifts. Simply click on the link to the store from the Ebates or Swagbucks site and then you will get a percentage back when your purchases have gone through. This is a quick tip with minimal planning but can add up over time.
DIY gifts
This one is probably one of my favorite tips. If you were able to do DIY gifts, this can save money but a good activity for a no-spend weekend. I do realize that not everybody is creative minded; however, I do believe that everybody is creative in some manner. Find something that you are good at and utilize it as a potential gift option for those on your list. These gifts can mean the most to people as it takes time rather than money to make.
For kids, this is a great option to give. They can be a personal expression towards the receiver. Even just providing hours of labor for parents with tasks around the house is a perfect gift. The DIY gifts don’t need to be extravagant either, they can be simple gifts that you put together yourself. Oftentimes we think of the perfect gifts as being ones that are expensive but in actuality, they’re the ones that come from the heart.
Donate to those in need
This isn’t really a money-saving tip; however, this is the season of giving. If possible and fits within your budget, buy an extra gift or two to donate to someone or a family in need. It doesn’t have to be expensive gifts, the thought alone is enough. It doesn’t have to be a gadget or something extravagant, it can easily be something that they need even as simple as clothes.
Conclusion
This time of year shouldn’t not being about breaking the bank. it is about spending time with family and friends and creating memories. You can find the perfect gift for everybody on your list without harming yourself financially. These are just a few of the tips make me used with saving money on Christmas gifts. Do you have any other money saving tips? Leave a comment down below and let us know