Christmas can be very stressful, especially when you have a tight budget. I have a few tips for saving money (and your sanity!) next Christmas!
Start shopping now. Shopping a little bit at a time over the course of the year can be easier for some people than paying one lump sum at the end of the year (and potentially using credit cards and going into debt.) or trying to save a little money each month to pay for gifts. You also have the opportunity to take advantage of sales and deals all year long.
These are some of my favorite deals:
Clearance – Walmart, Target, Hobby Lobby, and many other stores mark their Christmas decor, gift wrap, and other seasonal items as much as 75% – 90% off after Christmas! Buy now and stash it away for next year and pay just 1/4 of the price!
Amazon – Amazon is my absolute favorite online retailer for finding bargains. They have amazing toy sales and you can find deals on other gift items throughout the year.
Target – Target marks their toy clearance down to 75% off twice a year – once in January and once in July. In addition to finding gifts for Christmas, I stock my gift closet with extra toys to have on hand for birthday parties.
Hot Deals – I also post any hot deals I find on my blog, so subscribe to my email alerts so you don’t miss out!
Short on cash? Here are a few of my favorite ways to earn extra money for the holidays. Save up your points all year then cash them in for gift cards around November to help pay for Christmas gifts!
My Points – Earn points to redeem for gift cards to tons of retailers like CVS, Bath & Body Works, Macy’s, and More! You can earn points just by reading emails, taking surveys, or by doing your online shopping through their links.
Swag Bucks – Use the Swag Bucks search engine to do all your web surfing and you can rack up points to redeem for gift cards! My personal favorite is the $5 Amazon gift card, but they also have Target, iTunes, Starbucks, and More!
Surveys – Taking online surveys can be great way to earn a little bit of extra cash. Some pay as much as $3 per survey! There are many scams out there, so I have composed a list of legitimate online surveys HERE.
I hope these tips will help ease the financial stress of Christmas so you can enjoy the time with your family and have a peaceful holiday!
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In January of each year my husband and I sit down to work on the new year's budget. We decide how much we are going to spend for Christmas that year, divide the amount by 12 and put that much into savings each month. It does not get touched until Christmas shopping begins.That way, when the credit cards come due, we have the money to pay the bills just sitting there. We do NOT exceed our limit and credit cards are paid in full every month without fail. No stress and we have great Christmases.
That's great!! So much less stress than going into debt at Christmas.
I LOVE this blog! You give us such great information and you have helped me save money this Christmas by posting when Target was having their 75% off sale on toys back in July. I got all the toy gifts I needed for my boys for Christmas. I got 12 hot toy items for $70.00. I got 5 huge lego's, a remote control police car and other toys. My boys were very happy this Christmas. So thank you so much for keeping all of us informed on all of these great deals.
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and look forward to what 2012 holds!
Tonya
That's awesome! I LOVE those 75% off toy sales!
let it be said that this normal extreme couponer checked with her local CVS to see if they would be discounting Christmas cards - and the manager said they wouldn't...... :(