1 - I shop around for the best prices online - whether I will be buying online or in a store.
2 - I set a budget for spending and stick with it.
3 - I shop at craft fairs all year long and pick up things that I think people will love (same with garage sales, store sales, etc.).
4 - I use coupons and discount codes to get money off and free items - like the 20 free personalized holiday cards I got from Walgreens last week.
5 - I enter drawings (like this) for free gift cards and goods to use for shopping.
6 - I do my best not to travel by air or too far by car between mid-November and the start of January.
I try to keep my eyes out for good bargains throughout the year for gifts and keep to a short list of those I am exchanging with and budget ahead of time.
I hate the airport so I try to get through it as quickly as possible. Having a plan and getting everything ready ahead of time is key to a good experience. Thanks for all the great tips!
Great tips. There is nothing more frustrating than waiting in lines at the airport when you could have checked in online. Doing as much as you can before getting to the airport is the key to getting through the airport faster.
Perhaps the best way to save money for the holidays is to plan for it all year. Setting aside some extra cash for the Holiday season will put less stress on your budget when December rolls around.
As i think of gift ideas, i add them to my wishlist in amazon before i forget them and then regularly check to see if the price drops. if it does, i purchase (amazon prime customer too) and I can snag it at a deal. Amazon prime allows me to buy whenever the mood hits me (or when the sales timing is right) and not have to worry about paying shipping charges. It also keeps me out of the retail stores where I can easily be swayed by add-on items I don't really need to buy.
Money is especially tight this year, due to medical expenses and job loss. Gifts are from the dollar store, baked at home, or handmade. For entertainment, my husband and I are going to the library for books and movies. We also enjoy playing Scrabble on occasion. We do not eat out and we do not have cable TV, and we are trying to only buy "necessities". We went to a local food co-op program this week, and paid $10 for 60 lbs. of produce. For our $10, we received 9 zucchinis, 6 cucumbers, 2 yellow bell peppers, 3 little watermelons, 1 cantalope, and a large bag of green beans. We made ratatoulle and zucchini bread, and processed and froze lots of green beans, (cut off both ends, boil 3 min., cool off in ice water for 3 min., drain, then seal in plastic bags and freeze) the cucumbers make good snacks, and the melons are good for desserts. We also made a trip to the grocery store that advertised a free turkey up to 24 lbs. with a $150 purchase. We bought everything on sale, for example, dried beans and lentils, powdered milk, buy one get one free round steak to cut up into stew meat (enough for at least 4 meals), buy one get one free roasts, that we cut up into 7 smaller roasts, 97 cents for 10 lbs of potatoes, and we tried the store brand bath tissue to see if it is tolerable (it was, and we also received a coupon at the register for $1.50 off another package). We spent the $150, and picked out a 22 lb. turkey. In the summer, we were at the local thrift store and saw a (new sealed in the bag) craft kit to make a christmas tree skirt, so that is my current project. We don't feel deprived, we look at it as a challenge to see how well we can do the holidays without spending a lot.
I ask what they want/what they like and don't spend any extra money on other gifts I think they would might like (because they usually don't because my tastes are questionable, lol). I also sell some of my stuff like books, DVDs, etc to stores like FYE or Amazon.com where I can get gift cards/money to spend. I've learned from being a price coordinator at a store for a few years that the best sales aren't on Black Friday, but after that closer to Christmas or when a store has a very large ad (like TRU's Big Book). Black Friday is often a lot of hype - our over-filled return bins a few days after it is living proof.
We don't exchange gifts with friends & only minimal gifts with extended family, mostly just the kids. I shop the sales, in person & online~ I'm not really big on Black Friday, though I will go out for some limited shopping. I get a nice, inexpensive fresh tree at Home Depot. Since I have years of collected ornaments, I don't buy much other than replacement lights, as needed.
Christmas has always been a big deal in our family from my youth, so I do plan for the fact that I'll be spending extra money. We enjoy the tree & decorations, opening gifts & a big dinner, so that's part of my overall spending plan for the year.
I do a lot of shopping year-round at clearance tables, yard sales and thrift shops.
I cash in reward programs and either give the gift cards outright or use them to shop for presents.
My biggest holiday challenge this year is that my main source of income went away and I have chosen not to rush to replace it. Thus I'm happier than ever that I have those reward programs.
Last year I was a single mother to a three year old. This year I've gotten married and gained two more children and two grandchildren. There's a lot more preparation that goes into shopping for the holidays than I had to do last year. I can be very impulsive with money, and if I had saved and/or spent the holiday money all at once I would have made some very bad and split second decisions. I've been working a retail job the past few months and taking $40 per paycheck to pay for holiday gifts. My husband is the bread winner. With that being the case, everyone I'm buying for knows not to expect much. I started off with a budget of $20 for everyone and as I've finished everyone, I've added another $20 to each person's budget,etc. Most of the gifts are small but since everyone knew the budget they were able to tell me exactly what it is they want within the budget.
I bought the gift wrap after I bought the gifts so that I'd know the exact sizes of things I need so that there is little waste or extra things I needed to buy. I make good use of Dollar Tree. They have gift wrap, clothing boxes, tape, ribbons, etc this time of year.
I also don't buy anything that's edible. So much money was wasted in years past buying things like chocolate. With a lot of people to buy for, I want them to have things they love and can keep long-term if they so choose.
I make sure that all my spending throughout the year is on a rewards credit card so it can offset my holiday travels. Then I usually buy wrapping paper and cards right after the holidays of the previous year, as they are significantly discounted. I also discovered cheap wrapping paper and cards at Ikea ... in case anyone is looking for some!
I work a full time job and its hard to know all the good deals going on, so I look at deal blogs. Most of the time it's from savvy shoppers who can score great gifts for cheap. They tell me about rebates, promo codes and coupons that can be used to sweeten the deals.
1 - I shop around for the best prices online - whether I will be buying online or in a store.
2 - I set a budget for spending and stick with it.
3 - I shop at craft fairs all year long and pick up things that I think people will love (same with garage sales, store sales, etc.).
4 - I use coupons and discount codes to get money off and free items - like the 20 free personalized holiday cards I got from Walgreens last week.
5 - I enter drawings (like this) for free gift cards and goods to use for shopping.
6 - I do my best not to travel by air or too far by car between mid-November and the start of January.
I try to keep my eyes out for good bargains throughout the year for gifts and keep to a short list of those I am exchanging with and budget ahead of time.
I hate the airport so I try to get through it as quickly as possible. Having a plan and getting everything ready ahead of time is key to a good experience. Thanks for all the great tips!
Great tips. There is nothing more frustrating than waiting in lines at the airport when you could have checked in online. Doing as much as you can before getting to the airport is the key to getting through the airport faster.
Perhaps the best way to save money for the holidays is to plan for it all year. Setting aside some extra cash for the Holiday season will put less stress on your budget when December rolls around.
As i think of gift ideas, i add them to my wishlist in amazon before i forget them and then regularly check to see if the price drops. if it does, i purchase (amazon prime customer too) and I can snag it at a deal. Amazon prime allows me to buy whenever the mood hits me (or when the sales timing is right) and not have to worry about paying shipping charges. It also keeps me out of the retail stores where I can easily be swayed by add-on items I don't really need to buy.
We do a lot less gifting. It's more important to find one special thing than it is to shower someone with stuff they don't need anyway.
My biggest challenge is to not buy anything on credit - I am committed to paying cash for holidays.
I save money by shopping for gifts on sale and using coupons
Money is especially tight this year, due to medical expenses and job loss. Gifts are from the dollar store, baked at home, or handmade. For entertainment, my husband and I are going to the library for books and movies. We also enjoy playing Scrabble on occasion. We do not eat out and we do not have cable TV, and we are trying to only buy "necessities". We went to a local food co-op program this week, and paid $10 for 60 lbs. of produce. For our $10, we received 9 zucchinis, 6 cucumbers, 2 yellow bell peppers, 3 little watermelons, 1 cantalope, and a large bag of green beans. We made ratatoulle and zucchini bread, and processed and froze lots of green beans, (cut off both ends, boil 3 min., cool off in ice water for 3 min., drain, then seal in plastic bags and freeze) the cucumbers make good snacks, and the melons are good for desserts. We also made a trip to the grocery store that advertised a free turkey up to 24 lbs. with a $150 purchase. We bought everything on sale, for example, dried beans and lentils, powdered milk, buy one get one free round steak to cut up into stew meat (enough for at least 4 meals), buy one get one free roasts, that we cut up into 7 smaller roasts, 97 cents for 10 lbs of potatoes, and we tried the store brand bath tissue to see if it is tolerable (it was, and we also received a coupon at the register for $1.50 off another package). We spent the $150, and picked out a 22 lb. turkey. In the summer, we were at the local thrift store and saw a (new sealed in the bag) craft kit to make a christmas tree skirt, so that is my current project. We don't feel deprived, we look at it as a challenge to see how well we can do the holidays without spending a lot.
I ask what they want/what they like and don't spend any extra money on other gifts I think they would might like (because they usually don't because my tastes are questionable, lol). I also sell some of my stuff like books, DVDs, etc to stores like FYE or Amazon.com where I can get gift cards/money to spend. I've learned from being a price coordinator at a store for a few years that the best sales aren't on Black Friday, but after that closer to Christmas or when a store has a very large ad (like TRU's Big Book). Black Friday is often a lot of hype - our over-filled return bins a few days after it is living proof.
We don't exchange gifts with friends & only minimal gifts with extended family, mostly just the kids. I shop the sales, in person & online~ I'm not really big on Black Friday, though I will go out for some limited shopping. I get a nice, inexpensive fresh tree at Home Depot. Since I have years of collected ornaments, I don't buy much other than replacement lights, as needed.
Christmas has always been a big deal in our family from my youth, so I do plan for the fact that I'll be spending extra money. We enjoy the tree & decorations, opening gifts & a big dinner, so that's part of my overall spending plan for the year.
Handmade gifts (like food) not to mention holiday sales!
I do it like I do it with my everyday shopping! I take advantage of coupons, promo codes online, or cash back via my Discover It card!
I make homemade gifts instead of buying gifts. It's cheaper and more personal.
I do a lot of shopping year-round at clearance tables, yard sales and thrift shops.
I cash in reward programs and either give the gift cards outright or use them to shop for presents.
My biggest holiday challenge this year is that my main source of income went away and I have chosen not to rush to replace it. Thus I'm happier than ever that I have those reward programs.
Last year I was a single mother to a three year old. This year I've gotten married and gained two more children and two grandchildren. There's a lot more preparation that goes into shopping for the holidays than I had to do last year. I can be very impulsive with money, and if I had saved and/or spent the holiday money all at once I would have made some very bad and split second decisions. I've been working a retail job the past few months and taking $40 per paycheck to pay for holiday gifts. My husband is the bread winner. With that being the case, everyone I'm buying for knows not to expect much. I started off with a budget of $20 for everyone and as I've finished everyone, I've added another $20 to each person's budget,etc. Most of the gifts are small but since everyone knew the budget they were able to tell me exactly what it is they want within the budget.
I bought the gift wrap after I bought the gifts so that I'd know the exact sizes of things I need so that there is little waste or extra things I needed to buy. I make good use of Dollar Tree. They have gift wrap, clothing boxes, tape, ribbons, etc this time of year.
I also don't buy anything that's edible. So much money was wasted in years past buying things like chocolate. With a lot of people to buy for, I want them to have things they love and can keep long-term if they so choose.
I like to save up gift cards throughout the year and spend them on presents for the kids at Christmastime.
I stick to a list and a budget an avoid using credit cards!
I make sure that all my spending throughout the year is on a rewards credit card so it can offset my holiday travels. Then I usually buy wrapping paper and cards right after the holidays of the previous year, as they are significantly discounted. I also discovered cheap wrapping paper and cards at Ikea ... in case anyone is looking for some!
If ammonia is incredibly dangerous to children and pets, how many weeks/days until it is safe to walk through it? Is there something to replace it?
Plan menus and food lists in advance. It's easy to buy "special" food in every store. Some of it is fine, but saying yes all the time adds up.
I save money by not eating out as much. Definitely need the cash for gifts!
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During the holidays there are so many deals!
I work a full time job and its hard to know all the good deals going on, so I look at deal blogs. Most of the time it's from savvy shoppers who can score great gifts for cheap. They tell me about rebates, promo codes and coupons that can be used to sweeten the deals.