Every little bit of extra spending money helps during the holiday season. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of ways people can save serious money over the holidays. Here’s a list of the 25 super-simple steps you can take to keep more cash in your pocket.
1. Get a New Credit Card
Plenty of banks and retail stores offer low or no interest credit card specials during the holiday season. Buy your Christmas gifts on credit and don’t pay a dime of interest for anywhere from 6 to 12 months.
2. Amazon Trade-in
Send in your old books, CDs, and DVDs when you purchase new products on Amazon. You can often net as much as several dollars for each gently used item that you send in. It’s almost like buy two (or three) get one free.
3. Wait until the Last Minute
Many people think Black Friday or Cyber Monday offer the best holiday shopping opportunities. But that’s not typically the case. Most retailers cut their prices significantly in the days right before Christmas when they’re worried about moving their inventory and meeting sales goals.
4. Bake Your Own Cookies or Other Treats
Holiday cookies, candies, etc. are ridiculously overpriced. Take a day and spend it whipping up a batch of your favorite treats for giving away as gifts. It might cost you some time, but it could literally save you hundreds of dollars in expensive gifts.
5. Use Rewards Cards Gratuitously
Large retailers like Wal-Mart and Amazon have special rewards cards that offer as much as 3 percent cash back on products purchased through them.
6. Send e-Cards
Ditch the old fashioned holiday cards for all but the most cherished friends and family. Not sending out 50 cards can translate to as much as $200 to $300 in savings.
7. Give the Gift of Time
People often think they have to buy everyone a present, but that’s not true. Plenty of people would prefer the gift of your spending time with them or helping them out with some sort of household chore.
8. Give Practical Gifts
Giving people an inexpensive gift that you know they’ll use is often a much better choice than something cute and expensive that might never again see the light of day. Simple (and inexpensive) gifts like candles or bottles of wine are always a great choice.
9. Eschew Wrapping Paper
Wrapping paper is overpriced. Use other (free) materials like glossy magazine pages, the Sunday comics section, or even children’s artwork.
10. Eat In
Some of the best grocery deals of the year pop up around Christmas and New Years. Take advantage of the specials and wait until after the holidays to celebrate at trendy restaurants.
11. Entertain Yourself with Family
Rather than paying for movies, event tickets, etc. spend time playing cards, telling family stories, enjoying nature, and playing in the snow. It’s much more rewarding and just as fun.
12. Predefine Gift Limits
Rather than just “seeing what’s out there” and buying whatever gifts seem like a good idea, set a budget. Limit yourself to a certain amount of money per person and stick to those limits.
13. Use LED Christmas Lights
Swapping your old fashioned Christmas lights for LED ones can easily save $50 or more in reduced electricity costs if you normally keep your decorative lights on from Thanksgiving to New Year.
14. Better Yet, Turn Off the Lights
There’s no need to hang hundreds or thousands of lights around the outside of your home. Cut the lights, save some money, and help the planet. Go on a “tour of lights” instead if you need to.
15. Plan Your Vacation during the Holidays
The holiday season usually offers some of the best travel deals of the entire year (as long as you’re not traveling right before or after Thanksgiving or Christmas). Just book your vacations well in advance.
16. Check Online Deals Sites for Gift Ideas
Websites like Groupon and Living Social have great deals during the holidays and may be the perfect ticket for giving a gift that feels more expensive than it really is.
17. Make Parties Potluck
If you want to host a holiday gathering, don’t feel obligated to provide all the refreshments yourself. There’s no reason not to ask everyone to contribute. And make sure you’re clear about what you need so all the bases are covered.
18. Communicate Your Desire for Simple Gifts
Let people know that you’d prefer if they give you homemade gifts, donate to charity in your name, etc. That way you can do the same, guilt-free, without worrying about competing for the best and most expensive gift.
19. Do Your Shopping Online
Going online and searching for exactly what you want makes you far less susceptible to impulse buys and glitzy marketing displays at slick retail shops.
20. Look for Free Holiday Giveaways
Plenty of food vendors, retail shops, and more offer freebies during the holidays. Sign up for a website that sends out notifications and take advantage of all the giveaways. The savings add up.
21. Buy Second Hand
There’s nothing wrong with purchasing gifts from a thrift store as long as they’re in good condition.
22. Mail Gifts Early
Send your packages early so you can take advantage of the cheaper (slower) shipping options.
23. Decorate with Nature
Pinecones, pine boughs, and more are cheap and beautiful decorations. There’s no need to buy expensive plastic and metal foil.
24. Only Take Cash
If you’re going shopping, keep your cards at home and only bring a set amount of cash. That way you can’t go over budget.
25. Gift the Gift of Love
Being with family and friends and telling them you care is free—and more important than anything else.
Saving money is great. But according to Spencer Mitchell of Survey Spencer, making extra money is even better (and sometimes easier). He recently posted a review of the paid survey site MySurvey on his site. In addition to his hands-on reviews of online surveys for money panels, Spencer often writes about legitimate ways to work from home.
Attached Images:
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
Article provided by SurveySpencer.com.
These are all great ways to save money during the holidays. I plan to do a lot of baking this season because I’ve found so many recipes that I want to try. Plus, it’s going to be cheaper for me to give baked goods to neighbors and coworkers at DISH instead of going out and buying them all something. As for my close family, I’m buying the majority of their gifts online so that I can save money on gas. So far, I got a great deal on a DISH Sling Adapter for my family. With that connected to our DVR, we can stream live TV or our DVR recordings to multiple mobile devices. I know my husband could use it since he has a long commute on the train everyday to work, and my kids will love it when they’re dying of boredom while running errands with me –lol! As for wrapping paper, I bought it all on clearance last year!