6 Ways To Save Money This Season
All Financial Matters offers six interesting ways to cut costs between now and the end of the year, and although we don't completely agree with a couple of suggestions, we still think it's worth a look.
1. Actually look at the price tag before you buy each and every thing for the rest of the year.
2. Avoid items marketed for the season. Their example: red and green candles work fine—you don't need "Christmas" candles.3. Don't overspend on food. The concept of multi-day leftovers is as integral a part of Thanksgiving and Christmas as presents or family, but you're not actually required to make so much food that more is left over than eaten.
4. Buy fewer gifts.
5. Buy cheaper gifts. We think the "buy cheap!" approach is smart, but the other half of this suggestion is "the gift wrapping is more important, so wrap them up beautifully," but that only works if you make sure you don't pay a fortune on gift wrap.
6. Make compromises with family and friends. "If you have a large family why not openly set limits on who buys gifts for whom or how many can be purchased?"
We don't like this last one; this writer can speak from experience about the topic because his family follows a similar "compromise" strategy every year. The problem is that it takes a lot of the fun out of gift giving by layering a set of external rules on what should be a selfless, personal activity. We like "buy cheaper gifts" better.
"Tis The Season To Be FRUGAL" [allfinancialmatters]
(Photo: Getty)
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The wife and I are actually doing the last one with her side of the family this year. Not so much for our benefit, but they will overspend themselves even though they can't afford it... I'd think helping them in that way is a better gift than anything we could actually get them.
Our family usually ends up with four different get togethers (mom and dad sides of both my wife and I) so we have encouraged gift exchanges. Then you only have to buy one gift for one person, and it can be at whatever price limit. Then all you have to buy for is the kids and wife. Much cheaper.
Oh, and before anyone points out that I actually have to buy four gifts, let me say, I am aware of that. But four is still cheaper than say, 30.
Be rebellious and refuse to participate in over extended stress filled holiday obligations.
Were skipping Thanksgiving and doing a low key Xmas at home. Everyone outside our house will get a card. The amount of gas and other money we will save not driving half way across the country is enough to cover our winter heating bill. Not dealing with the stress and baggage of dealing with extended relatives...priceless.
If you have a large family, how about if everyone picks a name out of a hat? This usually works well for adults, not so much for the kids.
The gift wrapping is not that important - you can use the Sunday funnies (for the color) as the gift wrap.
My family participates in the last suggestion. My parents are divorced, both remarried, and I have three stepsisters and three real/stepbrothers. I'll take a break wherever I can get it.
We do the Christmas drawing around Thanksgiving for extended family on my mom's side. Everyone gets one name, with a $50 max. Those are the only rules.
My roommate and I have also come to a compromise on Christmas - no gifts for each other, but we are going to go shopping together for "house needs" and use maybe $15/each to stock up on cleaning supplies, toilet paper, paper towel, rubber gloves, etc. Hell, maybe even a Christmas candle! No, probably not.
I think a "secret Santa" approach with the extended family with a relatively high limit where everyone buys one really good gift for a person is better than buying a dozen cheap gifts people don't really enjoy. Cheap isn't always better, nor will it necessarily save you money.
The best thing to do really is agree to give people something they really need and can seriously appreciate like agreeing to babysit their kids, come in and clean their bathroom really well once a month for the next three months, prepare them dinner on their busiest night of the week, mow their lawn or whatever. Give them time rather than crap.
We started a new tradition last year with my husbands family. The adults draw a name and give that person a t-shirt. It can be serious or funny, store bought or hand-made. Everybody still buys for the kids, cuz they are the ones who really enjoy Christmas. It was a lot of fun and everyone enjoys their shirts.
This is how I live every day...no changes here. I don't have kids so x-mas is cheap, and you know its from me when its wrapped in newspaper ;-)
Here's a secret: the gift wrapping is usually more important than the gift.
No. No it isn't.
People will probably will abandon the gifts within a month anyway.
This makes me think that the person who wrote this isn't very good at giving gifts. If the people you give gifts to always abandon them in a month maybe it's because you're giving them stuff they don't want.
The "cherry pie"/"pick a name" idea is a great one IF you keep it to just adults. One year our very large extended family had one of these and some of my relatives decided to put their kids names in there. My dad ended up buying a very nice [whatever] for someone, and got like, two golf balls from my eight year old cousin who drew his name.
Excessive xmas gift giving is a corporation-invented tradition that needs to die, right along with diamond engagement rings.
I only have a sister, brother in law and a nephew on my side of the family so Xmas is cheap for me. My wife on the other hand has about 30 people on her side. So I introduced them to our tradition which is everyone buys something for the kids and we do a gift exchange with a $30 limit for the adults. Pick a name of another adult only.
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I have reverted to the 19th century custom of Christmas as a religious holiday and now give give gifts on New Year's Eve. With the shift away from binge drinking, the family New Year's Eve Party is a nice change.
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It wasn't until WWII that the Baby Boom generation was to be bombarded with the need to commercialize Christmas.
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We also save because we buy after Commercialized Christmas has been returned for refund or credit.
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So, my suggestion, keep Christmas, Christmas and get down and dirty secular over New Year's.
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Gift wrap and Christmas cards:
If you have a place to store them at home, buy them after Christmas at 50% and more (CVS and Target discount to 75% after a week or so, even 90% at times). Then you're all set for the next year at a fraction, literally, of the usual price. I have done this for decades and would never pay full price for cards or wrapping supplies.
Good common sense tips. I did #6 a few years ago, suggesting that the adults stop obligatory giving and it's been just so nice not to try to find 'just the right gift' for SIL or FIL etc. And, they were all relieved too! Since then, gifts are given to the little kids in the family, and Christmas is about Santa Claus, being together, and fruitcake.
In my family one of us picks a favorite charity and then all the adults gives a gift in how ever much they want to said charity in the persons name who picked it for this Christmas. For kids, shop on-line, no dealing with crowds!!
@chandler in lasvegas:
That is a fine idea, a bit late to change over this year but worth looking into for next year.
The best way I have found to save money is not to get anyone outside of my immediate family anything. I don't let them get me anything either, if they want to buy for the kids that is fine.
Become an atheist, no religion, no holidays to splurge over!
Or just buy what you usually do the rest of the year, and don't choose to celebrate holidays. Is that such a longshot that it doesn't make the list?