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Christmas is soon approaching, which means now is the time to start preparing for the holiday season. I love finding creative and frugal ways to save money for the holidays!

Getting ready ahead of time can save you a ton of money and time that could be spent on enjoying the holidays instead of stressing about finances.

According to American Research Group, the average person spends around $900 on gifts for the holiday season. Not including a lot of other expenses such as traveling and food costs.

What’s worse, a lot of Americans rack up credit cards trying to afford all of these gifts, contributing to debt. Not only does this add stress but it takes away from the enjoyment of the holiday season.

The holidays can be quite expensive, but they don’t have to be if you are smart about how you save and spend your money. It’s all about how you organize, track and conserve your finances.

With all that being said, here are my top ways to save money during the holidays and not go into debt.

Related Posts:

• 30 genius ways to save money
• Personal finance tips that’ll make you rich
• 10 money moves you need to make in your 20’s

10 Genius Ways To Save Money For The Holidays

BUDGET

Before you begin your shopping spree, set a realistic holiday budget. This will help you analyze your spending so you don’t end up getting into debt (which is so easy to do during Christmas). I would evaluate how much money you have available to spend over the holidays, how much you plan on spending and figuring out what you need to do to stay within your goal amount.

Items you may want to include in your budget:

• Gift cards
• Wrapping paper and wrapping supplies
• Transportation costs
• Food for parties
• Stamps, gift bags, stickers
• Holiday cards
• Decorations

USE REBATE APPS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

There are so many different apps that’ll give you cash back on your purchases. My favorite is Ebates because they make getting cash back so easy, some stores do double cash back and you get a $10 welcome bonus just for signing up! They have every store you can think of – Amazon, Forever21, Macy’s – you name it.

All you have to do is find the stores you normally shop at online through Ebates and start shopping.

>> Get $10 by signing up here <<

Gift Exchanges are your best friend

Gift exchanges make Christmas much more affordable because you only have to purchase a gift for one person. This is such a great way to save money and time. Also, the gift will be much more thoughtful because you’re giving only one.

This is a practice each year in my family. The adults do the gift exchange, but the young children still get gifts for everyone. It actually makes Christmas much more enjoyable and special because you know the gift you receive was well thought out since it came from only one person.

Host a potluck

Just because Christmas is at your house doesn’t mean you need to do all the cooking (and buy all the food which can be expensive!)

This will make Christmas so much less stressful and easier for everybody. Also, it’s a great way to bring the warm Christmas spirit into your home.

You can ask guests to bring a dish as well as napkins, plates, cups, silverware, etc.

What’s your favorite Christmas dish? (I’m a huge pumpkin pie fan!)

Give edible gifts instead of expensive gifts

Batch a few cookies for friends and coworkers. Make homemade hot chocolate mix and put it in a cute mason jar. Create a fruit gift basket or rice krispie treats for the kids. There are so many different cheap and easy-to-make edible gifts that you can give loved ones.

Find ways to cut back

Are there any monthly subscription services you aren’t using anymore?

Whatever it is, there are things we could all cut back on which would give us more extra spending cash. Even if you can only get $50 or $100 extra dollars, that’s better than nothing, right?

Here are some things you can cut back on:

• Cable (there are so many cable shows you can find for free or cheap online)
• Find a more affordable cell phone plan
• Eat out less
• Cancel your gym membership
• Shop a thrift stores instead of retail

More ideas to save money:

• 30 genius ways to save money
• Personal finance tips that’ll make you rich
• 10 money moves you need to make in your 20’s

Find ways to make extra cash

Having extra spending cash will make the holiday season so much more enjoyable because you don’t have to worry as much about not being able to afford gifts or going into debt.

Plus, there are so many different ways you could make extra money, especially with the internet opening so many doors for online jobs. Every year I have enough money to spend for Christmas and don’t have to worry about it because I do side-hustles regularly to save enough for the holidays.

Here are some ways to make extra money:

• 10 real work from home jobs that make up to $100,000/year
• 15 side hustles to try this fall
• 20 work from home jobs with little to no experience
• 8 easy side hustles to make extra money

Shop as soon as possible

Starting your holiday shopping now will save you so much stress than pushing it off until later (or the day of!)

Some of the more savvy shoppers save up to a year before a holiday. The sooner you start, the more you’re likely to save because you aren’t frantic and rushing around stores hoping to find the gift you need and at a good price.

If you start now, the stores will probably be fully stocked with gifts that are on sale. On the other hand, if you are low on time, you may buy items you don’t need at a much higher price.

Quality over quantity

Sometimes we think expensive gifts or a large number of smaller gifts are a necessity to impress our family or friends, but one thoughtful gift can be much better than ones with a high price tag.

Your family members are much more likely to cherish gifts that add value to their lives and came from your heart, especially if they were handmade by you.

Remember the true meaning of the holidays

Gifts are a nice way to thank your friends and family for being a fundamental part of your life, but the true meaning of Christmas or any holiday is spending quality time with your loved ones.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Before you go, make sure to check out my free resource library to get access to a ton of freebies from weekly planners to budget printables, checklists, workbooks and more – updated weekly.

How much do you plan on spending this holiday season? How do you plan to increase your holiday savings?

Haylie xx

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