When the holidays hit some of us go into instant panic mode. We see huge dollar signs hovering overhead and looming just off in the distance. That robs us of the joy of the season. Why not approach it with an attitude of fun and creativity?
There are literally thousands of ways to save money this holiday season. Some people think about it often and others keep popping up from the creative minds of friends and families each passing year.
You should start by making a list of the ‘must have’ things so you can work out creative strategies for cutting the budget in those areas without compromising quality and sentiment. These would be some basic things like-
• Food
• Christmas Cards
• Wrapping Paper
• Decorations
• Entertainment
and many more things depending on your holiday habits. These are places where if you go into it with a joyful attitude and get those creative juices flowing, you really may surprise yourself at what you can do to pinch a penny here and there. Before you know it you could save quite a bit of cash and the black cloud of debt and expense will dissipate before your eyes.
Pinching Food Pennies
There are always good deals and discounts to be found around the holidays. The stores want to offer their customers good service and get them to the store. If you have one certain store (as most people do) that you love going to it still doesn’t hurt to check the paper for other nearby savings. Take advantage of the ‘store wars’.
By using coupons and looking for ‘off’ brands you can cut your food bill in half. Some of the lesser known brands have quality food and just not the name and reputation larger companies have established. They can help you cut your bill and deliver just as good a meal.
This is the time for comparison shopping more than any time of the year. Be willing to part with the regular shopping habits and cross over to try new things. Take advantage of sales ahead of time. Trying changing up on your cooking methods as well. A turkey cooked in a Reynolds cooking bag can turn out every bit as tasty as a big Butterball and cost much less.
Pinch Those Christmas Card Pennies
We all know how lovely the Hallmark cards are and also how expensive some of them are. If you have a home computer why not create your own card and print it out. That is a chance to get your true sentiments down on paper rather than settling for something someone else has already written. And the cost is next to nothing!
Pinch Those Decorating Pennies
One of the ways I love to save in this area is to create decorations from nature. There are reasonably priced decorations in the stores but they disappear very quickly. I love using things from outdoors like pine cones, fallen bird nests, uniquely shaped sticks, colorful berries, etc.
As far as the wrapping paper and the entertainment I refrain from tainting your imagination. Hope this got your creative juices flowing. I just know that you can truly enjoy the holidays if you put more of your own unique and joyful personality into how you prepare it. Happy Holidays!
1 COMMENT
Melanie
12 years agoThanks for all of the wonderful tips to save money during the holidays! I took a tip last year from one of the ladies I work with at DISH, and it’s really paying off. The day after last Christmas, I bought several roles of wrapping paper since much of it was over 75% off, and I’m using it this year. I also plan to follow your pinching food pennies suggestion and I’ll be throwing a potluck instead of taking on the financial hardship to prepare the entire Christmas meal myself. With all of the money that I’m saving, I can easily afford to get my husband the tablet that he’s been wanting. He’ll be able to use the DISH Remote Access app to watch live TV and DVR recordings while he’s away from home, and it’s not going to cost us anything extra on our bill each month. With this savings, I think we’re going to have the big New Year’s Eve blowout that we’ve always wanted to do!