Giving gifts during the holidays can be stressful, both mentally and financially. I've compiled a list of ideas for spending less money on Christmas this year.
As you get older, your attitude toward the holiday’s shifts. Even though your feelings of happiness and friendliness should remain, your attitude toward gifts should shift.
Photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels
It goes from being something you are looking forward to being something you dread doing.
Maybe not, but when you're expected to give as much as you receive, gift-giving takes on a whole new meaning. When you're working with a limited budget, spending a large sum of money on a large number of people can feel like an imposition. It should come as no surprise that so many Americans end the year with credit card debt, unable to pay it off before the next holiday season rolls around.
Christmas shopping, on the other hand, does not have to be expensive. There are a number of strategies that can be used to reduce or eliminate holiday expenditures. All that is required is an openness to new ideas.
Make A Plan
When shoppers fail to plan ahead for Christmas, their spending often exceeds their budgets. Determine your Christmas spending budget, and then make a list of all of your responsibilities, including gifts, travel, and decorations, and stick to it. Add a monetary value to each item, erring on the side of overestimating.
Saving money this year may be difficult, but consider this: it will allow you to get a head start on your debts next year if you spend less this year.
One of the best ways you can create a plan is to read some budgeting tips on frugal living blogs.
Look Out For Extra Savings
A long list of gifts to buy? Here are a few favourite ways to look out for savings:
Look for coupons.
Join a store's mailing list
New subscribers usually get an extra 10%-20% savings. Even creating a new email address to receive several discounts.
Use a rewards card
Credit card with a cashback offer
Buy used gift cards
Talk To Your Loved Ones
If you are struggling to make ends meet, Christmas may seem like an imposition. Stress during the holidays may cause people to harbour ill will toward their more prosperous relatives and friends.
Discuss with your loved ones the possibility of skipping the gift exchange or spending less money. You don't have to tell them everything; just enough information to make sense to them is sufficient. Your brother-in-law who has recently become a parent might appreciate a year off from the madness of holiday gift-giving.
Summary
As an adult, purchasing gifts for friends and family members become a chore. Although it's not really enjoyable, coming up with non-traditional gift ideas is.
Remember that there are many different ways to be creative, so continue to think beyond the box.
Do you have any other ideas that could help? Please share some of them in the comments below.
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Play nice please.