Thanksgiving is next week! and the day after (or the night of for some retailers) starts the biggest shopping boom of the year. Christmas is crazy busy with travel prep, food prep, present prep, and even prepping prep. Here are a few tips to breathe easy, protect your wallet and peace of mind this Christmas.
Tip no. 1 – PRAY.
Pray and consecrate all your preparations and finances AND your will to Christ. The time and income we have are gifts from God and we’re called to be excellent stewards of both by using them wisely. I have a tendency to procrastinate, leaving too many to-dos for the last minute, which only leads to a home overflowing with stress and anxiety. And so the tip top way to get started is with prayer followed by communication with your spouse – knowing Andrew and I are on the same page is paramount to proceeding.
Tip no. 2 – Perfect Your Gift Shopping:
I LOVE Christmas shopping; I thrill in starting early and really studying my friends/family members to find the ideal gift, and I’m hoping to draw names on both sides of the family soon to determine who gets a gift for whom. Which brings me to my first point…
- Draw Names! Our family is ever-expanding and with all those kids and in-laws, we’d be out of house and home by New Year’s if we purchased for everyone. We draw names to keep things less expensive AND we set a $20-$30 limit per gift. Just because we set a limit of $25ish doesn’t mean we have to spend that much; I might spend $10! Or shoot, maybe $5 if I can find a great deal.
- Get Crafty: I’m hooked on Pinterest, especially for gift ideas for others (and myself!). Last year I referred to Pinterest for creative decorating, wrapping, and found some great ideas that yielded gifts on a dime! Homemade gifts shouldn’t bring about shame, but pride. I love looking at home decor or homemade presents knowing that I made them taking detail into them, and worked on them JUST for the recipient. I’d like to see Pottery Barn do so well.
- Check your list twice…again: Just because you find a deal, doesn’t mean you have to buy – if you don’t need an Easy Bake Oven because all you have are sons or nephews, finding one for $3.99 shouldn’t be tempting; it’s pretty easy to over-spend this way because we slip into the mentality of “I could use this someday” instead of “This will work now.” Evaluate your needs and stick to them.
- Think and Plan Ahead: Don’t wait til December 24th to frantically shop! Get an early start thinking about and hunting down gifts. If you purchase a present, then you the advantage of finding a sale; if you make your gift then you have plenty of time to put quality into it, avoiding a “thrown together” look. Start today! Even though we draw names with both my in-laws and my family, I know for sure that we’ll get something for both my parents-in-law and my mom, then I’ll get something for my best friend (I got her gift this past summer!), and then another friend’s birthday is just 3 days after Christmas so I prep early for her, too. Christmas comes every December so it shouldn’t take us by surprise.
- Shop SMART: Black Friday is the day I usually finish up my Christmas shopping, but I don’t step out of my pajamas or even out of the house to face the murderous crowds. I do it all online where you can find insane coupon codes and amazing deals on both merchandise and shipping. Retailmenot.com is awesome for searching for coupon codes and if there’s something specific you have in mind, search for it on slickdeals.net. Ebates is awesome for getting a small percentage (bigger on Black Friday) back from your online purchases AND you get a FREE $10 gift card for signing up. I’ve both given and received Groupons as gifts and I love it. I pay $15 but the recipient gets $30?? What a deal!
- Chart Your Progress: Ok – THIS might be a liiiittle over-the-top, but I keep an Excel spreadsheet of my Christmas gifts. (I love Excel.) I chart the following: the recipient, the gift, the date I ordered it, the date it shipped, how much its original retail price was, how much less I paid for it, the difference between the two, and whether the gift is wrapped and ready to give. I had amount totals at the bottom of each price column so I could see that I had $X worth of merchandise purchased for $Y. It’s thrilling to see how much I don’t spend; and with a little diligence, you can save hundreds of dollars.
Tip no. 3 – Food:
- Make your list – check it twice: Retailers are sneaky sneaky with their ploys to get you to impulsively buy at the store. Make a list and run it by your spouse to make sure you’ve got your bases covered. Stick to your list and get nothing else and resist impulse purchases.
- Get it on sale: Bacon, roasts, cheese, bread, etc. There are a million products that can be purchased in advance and frozen in preparation for your family get-togethers. Check the weekly ads for a few grocery stores and THEN, if you have the determination, take the ads to Walmart where they’ll match the ads if their in-store prices are higher. This saves you the time of going from store to store.
- Think for yourself: Just because they say it’s a deal, doesn’t mean it is. This goes for non-grocery retail, too. You’ll see a million signs for “NEW LOW PRICE” or “SAME GREAT DEAL” and you’ll know, that’s just not the case. For example, at Sam’s a few weeks ago I saw a “sale” advertising two bags of chips for $6. I guess it depends on where you live, but around here, that’s no sale. Two bags for $4?That would be a deal, or even a Buy One Get One would be nice. My mama told me, “You better shop around…” and that’s the truth wherever you spend your dollars.
Tip no. 4 – Travel SMART:
- Gassing Up: You can find some pretty good tips here, here, and here on maintaining excellent fuel economy; tips like maintaining your vehicle as a whole, keeping your tires inflated, getting rid of excess weight in your vehicle (that doesn’t mean your kids or your spouse), and filling your tank in the chilly morning on Wednesday versus warmer afternoon on Thursday (not kidding) will save cents and make sense in the long run.
- Munchies: Pack snacks, sandwiches, bottles of water, sippy cups for the kids, etc. The food-travel industry is WAY overpriced and they count on weary, hungry travelers like you and your whiny toddler to hand over your arm and leg for a “fun” sized cheeseburger. When we’re on the road, we pack a loaf of bread, PB, and jelly (healthy versions of each, by the way) in addition to granola, water, chips, and Cheerios for the kids. We try to make as few stops as possible to stretch our dollar and shrink our time on the road.
The holidays are on their way! What do you do to Penny Pinch and make sure that you can truly enjoy them without breaking the bank?
Thankyou – great tips!!!! Like you, I also love keeping a spreadsheet for all gifts and costs of gifts. It’s great to be able to track costs and additionally, to ensure that I don’t get the same kind of gift for the same person the next year, as it’s so hard to remember all of those details a year later!
Oh Belinda, what a great idea! To keep track of the TYPE of gift as well as the cost, etc. I’m guilty of giving the same kind of thing – especially for all the women in my life. Scarves, jewelry, etc. Thanks for the tip!
Happy Saving 😉