Skip to main content

Holiday Shopping at the Bottom of the Budget


Christmas is right around the corner and not only have you not finished shopping for everybody on your list, but you’ve been a good budgeter and you’re almost out of cash. You are NOT alone!  There are some things you can do to stay within your monetary limits and still hit everyone for whom you’d like to get a present; it just might not be as extravagant as you’d hoped.

Here are some ways to save on last-minute Christmas gifts.
  1. Food–what are you famous for? Do you bake? Put your talents on display and take some goodies to a few of your family members.
  2. Cutesy “neighbor” gifts–Christmas-colored hand soap in a pump bottle, a dollar-store mug with hot chocolate or towel with a candy bar, there are lots of ideas online of cheap, quick, and easy things you can do to share your holiday spirit. Just include a little handwritten card with some curling ribbon. If you can write a poem to go with it, even better! If prose is not your thing, just ask Google.
  3. If you are crafty or artistic, make something one-of-a-kind for friends.
  4. Make homemade “coupons” for something you can shop for after Christmas during the killer sales.
  5. Regifting–this CAN be done tactfully, but the rules are strict (search “how to regift without getting caught”).
  6. Service–don’t ask what you can do, just find something that needs to be done and do it.
  7. AVOID shopping online this late in the game–the extra shipping you’d pay to ensure its pre-Christmas arrival will put you way budget way over the top.

Don’t panic–you CAN do this. The goal is not to go deeper into a debt hole so you’ll be ready to start eliminating debt right after the new year. Speaking of the new year…come back and we’ll talk resolutions.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

One More–Christmas Experiences Part II

Christmas is just a week away. Hopefully you’ve checked everything off your to-do list and can spend some quality time “experiencing” Christmas gifts with your family. Because, after all, your loved ones will be far more touched by how you made them feel than they will be with what you gave them. This week, I want to share with you my sister, Carey’s, family Christmas experience. “One Christmas, when my boys, now 18, 23 and 28, were little, we gave them an experience that is still talked about now. And it’s something so easily replicated that any family can do it, and it’s not too late to do it for Christmas (even ON Christmas) this year. We drove around our neighborhood and looked at all the homes decorated for the holiday. We took note of the addresses as we numbered them. We talked about what made each ornamented yards stand out. And at the end of the night, we voted for our favorite. I had my sons help me make some of our favorite holiday desserts and, in addition to taking p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Timing is Everything

I was told that a good time to buy a car is January or February. Why? I would guess it’s because many people are financially destitute right after Christmas (because they have not yet been introduced to my blog!) so car sales are down. I do think there is another reason. I think that most people have yet to file their taxes and receive their tax returns (a.k.a. overpayment that they loaned interest-free to the government ) with which they plan to make a down payment. Now it’s March, and many people have already filed their taxes and received said overpayment that we common-folk refer to as a return, and it’s burning a hole in their pockets. This can be good news for you if you have things you want to sell. Now is the time to capitalize on the extra influx of cash. What do you have around your house that you no longer use that you can sell? Speaking as someone who has done this very thing, I must warn you. Selling stuff you don’t need anymore and collecting the cash can be addicting...
Post a Comment
Read more

It Happens Like That

And, in what seems like the blink of an eye, Memorial Day is over, school is out (or almost out), and my favorite time of the year is here! I love summer. I love it when the sun comes up early and wakes me. I love flip flops and shorts. I like to be warm (ok, not HOT, but warm). This is when I thrive. And I think it’s an excellent time to take a vacation or road trip. That being said, I plan a long time in advance for a vacation because I won’t finance one–and I’ve taken some pretty amazing vacations! I don’t usually just take off on last-minute road trips, either, but I’m learning to be more flexible in my old age. So I have done that on occasion, too.  Now, this blog post isn’t about the last-minute drives I’ve engaged, cruises I’ve embarked, or the countries I’ve explored (being a debt-free, self-employed, budget-loving, young, empty-nester has its perks!). This post is about getting you to a point where you, too, can take vacations without stressing about paying for it late...
Post a Comment
Read more