50+ Ways to Cut Back on Your Christmas Bills Without Feeling the Pinch
By Heather Johnson
The holiday season is fun and full of good times, but it’s also quite expensive. Nearly everyone feels the crunch from gift giving to travel and parties. But there’s hope-we’ve found over 50 ways to save money while still getting the most out of the Christmas season.
Gift Giving
Gifts are perhaps the biggest holiday expense, with the average family spending close to $1,000 each year. It’s not likely that you can just stop giving gifts, but if you’re smart about it, you can spread cheer withouth busting your bank account.
- Propose a white elephant exchange: Instead of buying gifts for everyone in a certain group, try buying a gift that everyone will enjoy, and play a game to determine the gifts everyone will go home with.
- Replace individual gifts with Secret Santa: If your family or group of friends is large, you’re likely spending lots of money and everyone else is probably feeling the expense, too. Suggest a Secret Santa exchange so that you can focus on getting one person the perfect gift rather than spreading yourself and your finances thin.
- Keep a list: It’s easy to forget what you’ve already gotten and then over buy, so make a list and check it twice.
- Buy early: It’s hard to feel Christmasy in April, but spreading out your shopping is a great way to make December a little more affordable. Have gift ideas for specific people in mind and stay alert for good deals on these items year round. Buy them when it makes sense and squirrel them away until Christmastime. This isn’t just a good money saver, it’s a stress saver, too.
- Buy late: If you can’t buy early, procrastinate. Many stores start discounting in the two weeks before Christmas for “last minute” shoppers, because their rush came in late November and early December.
- Frucall: Get online comparison shopping done from your mobile phone with this service. Put in the barcode of the item you want to look up, and it will tell you prices from various retailers.
- Slickdeals: Use Slickdeals to be alerted about some of the best bargains both online and off.
- DealsPlus: Like Slickdeals, DealsPlus is a great way to find good deals online.
- eBay: People are selling stuff to raise Christmas cash for themselves, so take advantage of the rush and get a bargain on this auction site.
- Freecycle: Keep an eye out year round for interesting items you can get for free on Freecycle.
- Order early: By ordering with enough time left over, you’ll avoid costly express shipping.
- Don’t buy extended warranties: If you’re buying electronics, don’t bother with an extended warranty. They’re a complete waste of money and a huge cash cow for retailers.
- Leave your kids (or husband) at home: Ladies, you probably already know this, but leaving your shopping helpers at home can help make things cheaper. Extra help tends to make your shopping cart fill up faster.
- Buy used: Used books, even toys and other items are usually perfectly fine to buy used. This is especially smart for small children-some things often haven’t even been opened.
- Regift: It’s taboo, but if you’ve gotten something that you’re not interested in, but you know your Aunt Sue would love, go for it.
- Shop local: Buy from local craftsmen, and you’ll probably save money while getting unique items. Check out school craft fairs, co-ops, and Christmas markets.
- Shop Black Friday: There are some great deals to be had on Black Friday, but be sure to have a game plan and a list.
- Shop Cyber Monday: Like Black Friday, Cyber Monday is full of deals online.
- Comparison shop: Books, DVDs, toys, and lots of other items often have huge discrepancies from one retailer to the next. Check out multiple prices, both online and off, to save money.
- Pay cash: Paying cash will make you stick to your budget, and you’ll save on interest fees in January.
- Give old toys: If your child is mature enough to understand the signifigance, give them an old favorite toy of yours.
- Ask for free gift wrapping: Many stores do this for you, and it will save you money, time, and hassle.
- Get crafty: Homemade gifts aren’t for everyone, and you have to make sure it’s actually cheaper, but creating your own Christmas gifts is a great way to give heartfelt presents that don’t cost a whole lot.
- Try Wrap Art: Wrap Art is creative wrapping from stuff you have around the house.
- Be charitable: Pay admission to events with a small charity gift when you can, and make tax-deductible donations for either yourself or a gift recipient.
Travel
Christmas travel is often stressful but necessary. If you’re going to see Grandma, keep these tips in mind to save money and hassle.
- Pick your dates wisely: By being flexible with flight dates, you can save lots of cash.
- Comparison shop: Sites like Kayak are great for checking out fare deals.
- Pay attention to timing: Fares vary depending on when you buy them. Six weeks out is usually best.
- Check alternate airports: If there’s another airport near your destination, consider checking fares to that airport as well, especially if you’re planning on renting a car anyway.
- Travel light: Most airports give you a limit of 50 pounds per piece of checked luggage before they start charging, but the charges are steep.
- Consider a package deal: Package deals this time of year can be great bargains, but of course make sure you were planning on paying for a hotel, rental car or other extras that the package includes.
- Use frequent flyer miles: Cash in the frequent flyer miles you’ve been earning all year to get a free or discounted trip.
- Hit the road early: If you’re traveling by car, you’ll get better gas mileage if the roads aren’t too crowded.
- Plan your fillups: If you’ve got time, map out your fillups based on cheap gas prices. You can use websites like GasBuddy to monitor prices all over the US and Canada.
- Bring snacks: Don’t buy expensive food on the road if you can help it. Instead, bring crackers, granola bars, and other easily-stored snacks.
- Make pet arrangements early: If you’re boarding Fido, make your reservations early. Otherwise, you might get stuck with most expensive, least a
- Reserve a spot for your pets early: Ask a friend to watch Fido while you leave town for the holidays, or consider other similar options if you wait too long, because the good kennels book fast this time of year.
- Get good directions: High gas prices mean getting lost is more expensive, so plan your route as best you can.
- Do a quick car check-up: Nothing busts your budget faster than auto work while on the road. Do a fluid, tire, and brake check at home before you hit the road.
Attending & Hosting Parties
Holiday parties can be a blast, but outfits, hostess gifts, food, and drink can add up to a huge bill. Save money on soirees with these tips.
- Don’t go to them all: Is it really that important to go to your cousin’s friend’s party? It’s OK to say no to parties if you’re booked and strapped for cash.
- Buy one good holiday outfit: Wear the same outfit to every party, unless you’ll be seeing the same people over again.
- Buy or create hostess gifts in bulk: If you’ve found one good hostess gift that everyone will like, stock up. Wine is often sold at a volume discount at liquor stores. You can also just make a bunch of cookies one afternoon and package them up for each party you’re going to.
- Go potluck: Take the cooking pressure and cost off of yourself by asking each guest to bring their favorite dish.
- Get a free turkey: Around Thanksgiving, many grocery stores will give you a free turkey if you spend $25 at their store. Don’t just do this for Thanksgiving, plan your shopping trips right and you can get one to freeze for Christmas.
- Shop for liquor early: This is the drinking season, and more affordable liquors often go quickly. Buy early to get the best deals on alcohol.
- Make just one cocktail: If you’re hosting a party, don’t stock a full bar. Pick just one cocktail to serve at your party. Manhattans and egg nog are holiday favorites.
Buying for next year
It’s too late for this year, but this is the ultimate in Christmas saving. These items are commonly marked down at the end of the season and can be easily stored-just put them in the attic with the rest of your Christmas stuff and don’t worry about buying them next year.
- White elephant gifts: These are generic anyway, so buying ahead shouldn’t be a problem. But beware if you’re buying candles-they can melt if your attic or basement gets too warm.
- Christmas cards: You need new ones every year, but somehow the styles stay the same. Get them half off or more by buying after Christmas or after the card sending rush of mid-December.
- Lights: Even backup replacements are worth it at this price.
- Gift wrap: Gift wrap gets very cheap at the end of the season and can be used for next year and beyond.
More ways to save
Save even more money using these tips.
- Hand deliver cards: Save on postage by hand-delivering Christmas cards to local friends and family.
- Upgrade your credit card: Get a 0% APR card just before the holidays to avoid interest charges, and pay before the 0% period is over. You can also look for rewards to ease the crunch later.
- Return crappy gifts: If they truly suck, don’t hang onto them. Get cash to pay your bills or buy something you really like. You can even sell them on eBay.
- Get a store credit card: These are generally a bad idea, but if you’ve got volume shopping to do in one store, the sign-up discount can go very far. Just be disciplined and pay as soon as you get your statement. They’re counting on interest from you, but don’t let them get it. Pay before your grace period is up.
- Buy energy-efficient lights: Christmas lights can make your electricity bill grow around Christmastime, so help lessen the blow by getting more efficient lights.
- Get your kids to make decorations: Save decorating money by enlisting the help of children to create snowflakes, ornaments, and popcorn garland.
If you enjoyed this article, please bookmark it at del.icio.us
»
