 |
| |
Frugal Christmas Shopping
It's the time of the year when the stores start decorating, playing holiday music, and you either get excited or freaked out about the upcoming Christmas season. Christmas is supposed to be about good cheer and family, but in today's economic climate you may just not feel like celebrating. Especially if you are one of the unfortunate people that faces losing your job or even your home. It is possible to still have a wonderful, fun filled holiday season, while cutting back on one of your biggest expenses, shopping. It just takes some planning and creativity. The number one thing to remember is to make a plan and a budget and stick to it. Don't wing it as you may have in the past. If you are a planner then look for ways to make your plan a little tighter. Just remember that the Christmas season is about being, sharing time, and creating memories with loved ones. Keep that in mind and you can still have a festive holiday season without breaking the bank. For More Frugal Holiday Ideas click here.
Set a Budget, Create a Plan and Start EarlySet a budget and plan for your gift shopping, start your frugal Christmas shopping early, and make a gift list as early as you can. Write down each person and/or charity you are going to buy a gift for or make a donation to. Don't forget family members, friends, teachers, churches, synagogues, co-workers, and anyone else that you buy for. Next write down what you would like to give each person and how much you would like to spend. Drop some people off that list if the list is too long. I am sure that your gardener will understand if they don't get that box of chocolate this year. Make sure that you are comfortable with the list. If you are unsure what to buy for people on your list, start looking early so you don't get sucked into buying something expensive at the last minute. Start to shop now. Look for pre season sales. In your plan, spread out the expenses. In fact if you can - shop for the holidays all year round. Look for sales and find a great hiding spot for your gifts. It just takes a little organization. In your plan, set a date that you will be finished your shopping. Don't go past it - in fact stay out of the stores until the holidays are over. Think Creatively on Where to Buy your Frugal Christmas GiftsLook for other ways to shop. Look for the items you want to buy in box
stores - Walmart, Costco, or dollar stores. You can find some great deals
if you stick to to discount stores. If they don't have the exact item you want,
they will most likely have something similar and less expensive. Read your weekend paper. There are always ads for warehouse sales or "store blowout sales". They are usually only for a short time and are located in more industrial areas. There are usually lots of toy warehouse sales for all your kids presents that sell all the brand name toys for a fraction of the cost. Also look for your gifts on the Internet. Many stores offer significant discounts and you can save on gas by ordering it from your home. Make sure you take into consideration the shipping costs and the stores shipping deadlines. If you buy gifts for people out of town, you can usually have them gift wrapped and shipped directly to them - saving you time and money. At the very least, online shopping is a great way to check out items you would like to buy, look for reviews on the items and get some ideas for those hard to buy for people. It just takes a little bit of creativity to think of where to buy frugal Christmas gifts! Make a Change in How you Celebrate ChristmasSuggest to your co-workers, neighbors, circle of friends or extended family (some people do it in immediate family as well) that you play a gift exchange game. Not only will this decrease the number of gifts you will buy, but it will also create an opportunity to spend time together and create some great memories! Some example gift exchange games are: Secret Santa, Stealing Santa, Grab a Gift or the Gift Card Game. Click here for some other great ideas. Make a deal with your spouse or immediate family that you will spend less this year and put a limit on it. Or choose one big family gift instead of lots of smaller gifts. Sit down with your family and look at ways to make Christmas fun while spending less. Change the day your family celebrates Christmas. Do your gift exchange on New Years Day instead and do your shopping during the after Christmas sales. I know sounds radical but you can save A LOT of money this way! Become creative with your gift wrapping. Look at ways to wrap your gifts frugally. Buy your gift wrap at end of the season sales or reuse what you can. Gift bags can be bought at dollar stores and used again and again! Just be careful if you put them under the tree - some nosy gift receivers may spoil the surprise with a peek or two! Please send us your Frugal Christmas Shopping IdeasSend us your ideas and we will post them here or share them in our next Moneyzine Issue. Learn More about Frugal LivingTo learn more about more about this type of money management and frugal living see the articles below. More will be added regularly, so come back and check them out. To be up to date on the additions and changes to the Frugal Living section of Transform Your Money.com and the rest of the site. Join our newsletter or add us to your RSS, social bookmarks, Google, Yahoo or MSN (on the left hand side of this page). These articles will outline how to live frugally day to day, tips on saving money, living frugally as a family, the benefits of living frugally, having awesome holidays while still living frugally, and my story of living frugally.
Frugal Food and
Frugal Meals
Best
Ways to Save Money
Active Frugal
Lifestyle
Frugal Travel
Tips
|
Welcome to Transform Your Money.com
If you are a returning visitor, Welcome Back! |
|
|
| ||
Frugal
Christmas Shopping. How
to do your Christmas shopping frugally.
