Saving Money on Christmas

Tips that You Can Start Right Now!

Yes, you read that correctly- I want you to start thinking about Christmas now. And, yes, I know that it’s January and that the last thing that you want to think about is Christmas, but just hear me out… So, I read a lot of articles about what families spent on Christmas in 2018 and the numbers were all over the place. It seemed to me that the average (actually the average of the average) said that families were spending about $1,000- $1,500 on Christmas. But… everyone was also reporting that parents were planning to spend an average of almost $500 PER KID. The numbers all just seem odd, but I think that we can all agree that what the average family spends on Christmas is probably a lot. So let’s start Saving Money on Christmas! Below are a list of tips that you can start now. Right now!

Personally, between both mine and my husband’s family, we have a pretty daunting Christmas list when it comes to shopping for gifts. And unless I’m okay spending 3-4K on Christmas, then I need to plan and I need to start early. Also, one of the most important things that you can do is to BE ORGANIZED. And this is where I want to start with my first tip… Every year I make a list of who I want to have a gift for and about what I think my budget should be for each person. I may or may not check it twice.

Tip #1: Write a list of who you want to buy for along with an approximate budget per person.

In order to Start Saving money on Christmas, you need to know how many people are on your list. This list should be the first thing that you do to get organized. Put the list on your iPad, tablet, laptop or computer. Put it in a planner or on a piece of paper. Put it anywhere that you won’t lose it. Now that you have a list of who you will be shopping for, this will also be your record of what you buy and what you spend. Anytime that you buy a gift for someone, log the gift under that person’s name and how much you spent. Since you’re going to start buying gifts early this year (hopefully), you will need to be able to check this to see what you’ve gotten already and keep track of your budget.

SIDE TIP: Throughout the year, I also keep a list of gift ideas for my friends and family. Anytime that someone mentions that they like something, need something or if we’re out shopping together and I see them enjoying something that they don’t purchase- I jot it down. It is so helpful when the holiday season comes around and people really enjoy the fact that you remember things like that.

Tip # 2: Build up your rewards.

There are so many stores and credit cards that offer rewards these days. The key is in finding the companies where you can choose to use your rewards at anytime, like Christmas time. Some banks (Bank of America, for example) offer “round up” cards where your purchases with that card are rounded up the the next dollar and the amount that has been rounded, automatically goes into a savings account. There are other apps that offer this same “round up” service like Qoins, Boost Up and Qapital.

Do you shop at Target? Target always offers bonus gift cards on everyday items throughout the week. The one that I see most often is on laundry detergent. For example- Buy 2 bottles of detergent, get a free $5 gift card. It’s free money on things that you will eventually have to buy anyway. Take advantage of it and put those gift cards in an envelope. When Christmas comes around, how nice will it be to have an envelope stuffed with $5 Target gift cards?

A lot of retail stores offer rewards that you can build up throughout the year and then cash out during the holidays. If you shop at stores where the rewards will expire way before the holidays (like Kohl’s cash), consider buying a nice gift set or something that would generally make a great gift for anyone. Like a manicure or pedicure set, bubble bath, a cologne set. Kohl’s is full of things like that!

Tip #3: Buy gift cards.

Do you buy a lot of gift cards during Christmas? Do you give them away to teachers, mail carriers, nieces and nephews? Well, consider buying one every other week throughout the year. Fact is that people are rarely disappointed with gift cards and, thankfully, retailers have finally wised up and ended expiration dates (and fees) on almost all gift cards. By the time Christmas rolls around, you could have a solid stash of gift cards ready to pass out to friends, neighbors or whomever you’d like.

If you’re old-fashioned and prefer a gift that can be wrapped versus a gift card, still buy the gift card. Only… buy the gift card to a place that YOU like to shop for gifts and purchase the gifts with your own gift cards. The whole point of this is that this way, you aren’t dropping $2,000 at Christmas and instead maybe spending $20 a week. Also, make sure that you’re buying gift cards where you are going to get rewards or discounts. I usually buy my gift cards at Giant Eagle because it earns me rewards on gas and groceries. Sometimes groceries and other retailers run specials where they offer double perks on gift cards. Some retailers offer discounted gift cards- like Sam’s Club will offer a pack of four $10 Starbucks gift cards for $35. Be on the lookout for these deals.

There are also a few apps that will offer you money back or reward certificates for stuff that you buy. The best ones that I have heard about and researched are Ibotta and Shopkick. If you’re already going to be spending money at retailers, it’s a definite added bonus to get something back on your purchases.

Tip #4: Sell unwanted items

Not only will selling your unwanted items help you earn money that you can turn around and save for Christmas, but it was also help you to de-clutter your home before the holidays. Win win. So there are literally dozens of ways (and apps) that will help you to sell your unwanted items. Craigslist, Facebook Market, eBay, letgo, Offer Up, Poshmark… I can go on and on.

Or… Have a garage sale! I know that a garage sale can be a lot of work, but if you do it right, it can earn you a huge chunk of change that you can put towards holiday shopping.

Confession… we have to have a garage sale every year. I have 2 kids and quite honestly, I don’t know how we end up with all of this stuff. Last year I made about $2,200 at my garage sale. And that was without selling large pieces of furniture or dining room sets- it was just stuff. The key is to be organized. Start planning like a month out and advertise, advertise, advertise. If you live in a neighborhood, convince your neighbors to do a community sale- it will bring in way more traffic.

Tip #5: Simply start saving now.

Do you know that if you saved $20 a week for 52 weeks that it would add up to $1,040? I think that most of us could forego eating out at lunch or dinner once a week to put that $20 in an envelope to save. I mean, geez, have you been out to eat lately? Buying food for a family of 4 (even at McDonald’s) is probably going to cost you way more than $20.

There are a lot of saving apps and banks that offer fantastic saving plans. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of looking into a savings app or plan, consider just setting aside your loose money. Put your loose change AND loose dollar bills in a jar or some other place that you won’t be tempted to get into it.

Did you know that you can also make money online by doing surveys? Some of survey sites are better than others, so please look into them before you sign up. I’d hate for you to waste your time. I, personally, haven’t tried any of the survey sites, but the ones that I consistently hear that are the best are- Swagbucks and Bing.

Tip #6: Consider homemade gifts.

Have you looked at Pinterest lately? The free instructions and plans for DIY gifts and crafts are ENDLESS. There are countless amazing gifts that you can create and gift to people. This may or may not save you money depending on what kind of craft you choose, but you can choose to start buying supplies early for these gifts. Since you have time to shop for the items needed for your homemade gifts, shop around. Use coupons. There are always coupons available for Michael’s Craft Store or Joann Fabrics. Hobby Lobby has a scheduled rotation for the sales that they run. If the product that you’re shopping for is not on sale this week, it’s probably on sale next week.

Tip #7: Don’t pay full price unless you absolutely have to.

Unless you are getting the hot toy of the season (that is inevitably low in stock), don’t pay full price for anything. Except Legos. Ugh, those damn Legos are never really on sale. During the holidays, the retailers are competing for your business. Take advantage of price-matching. Most stores will price-match as long as you can show that the exact item you want to buy is cheaper somewhere else. Use the Google “shopping’’ tool bar to compare the prices of specific items.

To use the Google shopping bar: Open your google app or go to google online. Enter in a specific item that you are shopping for. Up at the top (right under the bar where you entered your search) there are tabs that say: All, Images, Maps, News, Videos, Shopping, Books and Tools. Click on “Shopping” and results for your item should be listed with prices. Find your item and click “Compare Prices.” It will list all of the retailers that have your item for sale and the prices that they are selling it for. Sometimes there is a pretty big difference in prices.

Tip #8: Know when to buy particular items.

Believe it or not, but the retail business is very predictable when it comes to when certain things are cheapest. Avoid buying bedding and towels during the holidays- the best time to buy linens is in January when retailers have their “White Sale.” While there are great sales on tv’s on Black Friday, the tv’s are usually smaller and the less desirable brands. The best time to buy tv’s is in late January- early February, right before the Super Bowl.

Black Friday IS usually the best time of year to buy music, books, appliances, movies and gaming systems. There are also excellent deals on clothes and shoes. Nowadays, retailers are posting their sales for Black Friday weeks in advance. Not only that, but for most of the sales (except the biggest door buster ones) you can get them online as well and never even leave your house! I usually plan out the Black Friday purchases that I want to make in advance, carve out about a half hour on Wednesday or Thursday night and BOOM… Black Friday shopping done.

Tip #9: Take advantage of AFTER Christmas sales.

I know that technically this isn’t a tip for paying for Christmas, but sometimes sales are too good not to take advantage of. The days right after Christmas is a great time to buy things like Christmas decorations. Consider buying any candy that won’t expire. Baking goods (I always buy Christmas sprinkles), cookie tins. Gift sets will be deeply discounted. Wrapping supplies like bows, ribbon, gift bags and wrapping paper. I will even buy wrapping paper that isn’t Christmasy. Take a look around, there is plenty non-Christmasy wrapping paper: stripes, polka dots. So that way when a birthday comes around, you’re not paying $5.99 for 20 square feet of paper.

I hope that a few of these ideas are new to you and can end up saving you money on Christmas. No one likes to start the New Year with a bunch of credit card debt. So start thinking about Christmas now. Or sooner than what you normally do. I promise that planning in advance will make all of the difference.