"Save It" is one of 3 main blog discussions we'll focus on this holiday season and by “save it” I mean spend it conservatively because let’s be honest, as much as we tell ourselves, our kids, our family members and our friends that "Christmas really isn't happening this year," you know and I know that its only a matter of time before the shopping bags start piling up in our trunk and by Christmas Eve, we've bought something for everyone and by everyone I mean Mrs. Shoemucker on the corner, Jack the mailman, Great Aunt Sue, your kids first grade teacher, dance coach, soccer coach, basketball coach, your husband’s assistant, your hairstylist, nanny, nail lady and lets not forget the never-ending list of co-workers! If you're one of these shoppers, read on...
Remember from my welcome message, our goals for this season are to preserve and conserve. Since we've already established spending will happen this season, lets just look at this year with a new approach; spending to conserve! Below are some helpful tips to help you plot out your holiday shopping roadmap and help you save as much as possible:
- First things first. Start out by printing my holiday gift budget worksheet posted on my homepage, labeled "Holly's Holiday Gift Planner." This is a template to help you prioritize who you need to buy for, what you're going to buy and how much you intend to spend. The key here is that you must stick to it! This is your ultimate guide and your bank accounts best friend, so set a limit, stick to it and divvy up the gift money.
- Create a coupon file to carry around with you at all times. You can pick one up at your local office supply store or better yet, reuse an old recipe box to organize your coupons.
- If you do have a lot of smaller gag gifts to buy for parties, co-workers and neighbors, buy in bulk! You'll get a better deal and can hopefully find a creative way to implement single gift items over an array of other gifts. This makes gift giving easy, convenient and cheap!
- This is the one we dread, but very important. You have to prioritize needs from wants. It’s worth eliminating some items from your list that may not be necessary. This will save you money that would otherwise go to waste.
- With rising gas prices and the affect we are having on our environment, it would be fun and save you at the pump if you carpooled to the nearest shops. So grab your friends and load up the car- make shopping an adventure- this too could count as a "holiday party." Public transportation is always a more eco-friendly approach as well.
- Check back here every week for the hottest new gift ideas.
Don't let the economy get you down- together we can still enjoy a holiday of shopping by spending conservatively!