Christmas is well and truly on the horizon, but I can’t gloss over Thanksgiving. The HOLIDAYS are coming…are you ready for what the next 7 weeks will hold? Do you have a plan to spend within your means?
Christmas can be a special time for many families, though for many more, it can be a financially challenging time where they are left feeling desperate and in despair that they cannot provide for their families the way they would like. I have often fallen in the financially challenged category, but I have found ways around feeling disappointment. Don’t feel pressure to keep up with the Jones’ buying elaborate gifts that will cause financial strain. That is not what the season should be about.
There’s always ways to get creative with your budget and be more frugal. I’m Ginny, the penny pincher, and I have a few ideas to share as you start thinking about your Christmas shopping. Focus on finding gifts that will bring more love and laughter to the people that mean the most to you. A thoughtful gift doesn’t have to be expensive. I compiled my favorite ideas from Amazon and they are all budget-friendly.
A study undertaken by the National Retail Federation found that Americans will be spending more on gifts in 2018 than they did in 2017, expecting to increase by almost 5% to $720 billion! The challenge, in terms of keeping to your notion of a frugal festive season is that the average cost of gifts is becoming much higher. There is a much greater chance of people overspending and making impulse purchases due to clever sales too. Just because something is a good deal, doesn’t mean you were ever in the market to buy that item.
In many ways, having a frugal festive season may mean you are swimming against the tide. Without thinking, we spend more money then we can afford this time of year. It’s a little too easy to buy a cute sweater for your mom and one for yourself too. Especially when it’s a good deal.
The cost of Christmas can be crippling. If you’re feeling the financial strain of the festive season, this post is here to help you have a great Christmas that you can feel good about when you’ve cut down on your costs. Be in the spirit of giving, but don’t give more then you have.
1. CREATE YOUR OWN GIFTS
Many people seem to feel they have to pay a fortune on a gift for it to be valuable to the recipient. There’s nothing wrong with creating your own gifts. The time investment and personal touches can make people feel even more special than if you had spent lots of money on their gift. Pay attention to the color of someone’s kitchen or their favorite color. Get them new dish towels and a cute bottle of soap for around $5. They will think of you and smile every time they use it and realize you picked a color they would love.
2. CREATE YOUR OWN GIFT WRAP
It’s incredible how much money is spent on wrapping paper, ribbons and other paraphernalia when it comes to Christmas gifts. You can create beautifully wrapped gifts that don’t cost a fortune.
Hopefully you were a smart shopper and purchased wrapping paper after the holidays last year when it is discounted to rock bottom prices. If that didn’t happen, Hobby Lobby or Costco has good quality wrapping paper for a good price. I love to wrap presents and save money on big fancy bows by using a cheap roll of TULLE. It’s fool proof and looks great!
3. SHOP FOR DEALS
The infamous Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales will soon be upon us, and this is a time when you can get some fantastic bargains – particularly on high ticket prices such as laptops, televisions and game consoles. That said, not all sales are related to technology, or big purchases, for instance, there are going to be many Roomba Black Friday deals of 2018 that will be perfect for parents.
In addition, shopping for deals isn’t just about gifts – there are lots of food stores that will have promotions which will rotate throughout the festive season; meaning, if you can buy items while they are on sale and then freeze them you will have tasty and delicious food to offer guests that was all purchased at a discounted price.
4. TRAVEL BEFORE OR AFTER THE HOLIDAYS
The most expensive time to travel is just before Christmas, as so many people are wanting to do this in order to get to see their family for the holidays – yet, if you can bump Christmas celebrations a bit you can save a huge amount of money on travel costs. We leave on Christmas or a day or two after Christmas which saves our family of 5 almost $1,000!
Better still, if you can convince people to come to you, it will make your life a lot cheaper, although it means you might have to provide a bit more food – given tip number three, this doesn’t have to cost a fortune, and is a great way to provide tons of value through creativity and effort. Plus, the majority of people will be happy to chip in with regard to covering the cost of the food, if they know you are struggling financially – as the average Christmas meal can cost a lot of money, particularly if you’re also providing food for Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas.
In summary, there are a number of things you can do to have a more frugal festive season that still allows you to enjoy and engage with the sociable season that this time of year brings. If you want to read more Christmas tips, here are 5 random, fun, and practical tips and traditions our family enjoys.
