5 Ways To Save Money Over The Holidays
The holidays are a time for fun, family, gatherings, gifts and just enjoying the season with those you love and care for all throughout the year. It is that one time during the year when people get together and truly enjoy spending time with one another. The one issue that tends to come during the holidays is the cost. This ranges from buying gifts to wrapping gifts to having holiday dinners. One can use a few tricks and techniques to save money during the holidays and thus bring the focus of the season back to one that is about the true spirit of the season.
Gifts Buying Off Season
One of the top ways to avoid the high price of hot holiday gifts and toys is to shop during the off season. This is something that needs planned in advance, but, done properly the savings are incredible. For example, buying socks, slippers and winter items during the spring or even summer when they are are being sold at a deep discount can really save you money and allow you to stretch those allotted gift dollars much further.
Setting Limits On Spending
There tends to be theme where people overspend during the holidays as everyone truly wants to make the season joyful for all. Setting spending limits and even saving throughout the year to create a holiday budget is a wonderful way to make sure spending stays under control. In addition, one can stretch those gift dollars farther by shopping sales and clearance sections of stores where discounts galore can easily be found.
Save Money On Gift Wrap
The high price of gift wrap can be daunting when a lot of presents need to be packaged up pretty. One can save money by using cheaper plain paper and using stickers, stamps or even paint to adorn the packages. In fact, even very low cost brown mailing paper can be transformed in to a glittery gift with some glue, loose glitter and then topped with a hand tied bow for the perfect presentation at a fraction of the price.
Stick To Simple Foods
Holiday dinners, parties and even baking can be costly unless one simplifies things to keep spending under control. For example, instead of a pricey spiral ham, one can opt for a shank ham to save some money. This can be done for every main dish, side dish and dessert served during the holidays and the savings can be even greater if grocery store sale ads are shopped and coupons used as well. One can save even more by opting for pot luck meals, hosting cookie exchanges and even asking guests to drink their own beverages when they are attending a function at your home.
Conserve Energy
Though it may sound off base, the extra cost of those Christmas tree lights, exterior lights and other items tend to show up in the form of a higher electric bill during the holiday season. one way to save money is to use timers for all lights and only have them on after darkness falls each evening and then have those lights turn off once everyone is asleep.
Today’s post was written by James Litvak from the SaveUp content development team. James is also currently a student at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute through New York University.
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