Tips to Save Money Holiday Shopping

Tips to Save Money Holiday Shopping

Oh my… We officially have 14 weeks until Black Friday and 18 weeks until Christmas!! If you’re already starting to think about the holidays know that these last couple of months with fly by, especially with school being back in session! If you buy gifts for the whole family then you may be wondering how to save when shopping for the holidays…

We posted this question on our weekly Penny For Your Thoughts post on our Facebook page:  Tips to Save Money Holiday Shopping. Here are a couple of the tips which were shared by our readers.

“I shop clearance sections throughout the year or after the holidays for the next year. Then it’s all done.” – Melissa B.

“We shop during the year, usually start in June and make our own salsa and other goods to give away. We have found the people we buy for don’t really need more stuff.” – Christine G.

“I make my own! I start in June and finish by christmas.” – Lucy V.

“I’m mixing homemade gifts and small purchases this year. Friends love my baking and treats so everyone’s getting a box of nuts and tin of cookies. Then something on the low end of the $ spectrum that the kids have been wanting. Watching sales all year long.” – Kristen S.

“I shop clearance and sales all year. I set a budget and stay in it (although I do go over sometimes for my kids I don’t for anyone else). I make a lot of my gifts.” – Tiffany J.

“I make some gifts and for the adults, consumable items only like treats, mixes, Bath and Body Works, etc. Kids I make a list and stick to it. I’m not a good shopper anyway thanks to ADD so I want in and out of a store quickly lol.” – Susan B.

Not only are these great ways to save now but there were quite a few people who had ideas on ways to save starting right after Christmas, meaning you start thinking about next years holidays while you’re still celebrating this years. Their tips to save starting at the holidays are below…

“I take money from my tax returns and put it in a savings account. I don’t touch the money until Christmas shopping. That way I don’t have to worry about it. I always use coupons on top of the Black Friday sales. I also do those free offers from shutterfly. They make great personable gifts.” – Sabrina A.

“I shop after Christmas sales and get things dirt cheap. I got some awesome stuff for the boxes I am sending for the kids, stocking stuffers, and stuff for those work parties and people who drop by. I also got tons of bags, paper, boxes, treat bags, ribbon, tags and bows. I still have presents to buy, but, I saved my state income tax check to take a chunk out of that.” – Luann N.

“Oh, another thing I do is keep 2 piggy banks. One is for pennies and one is for silver coins. People can do their own 2 piggies and spend the pennies on themselves and silver for family for the holidays. If you start on Jan. 1, you could have a few full piggies.” – Matthew G.

“I buy stuff for my 3 year old all year long that way it’s not overwhelming me.” – Misty G.

“I shop sales and clearance all year. Christmas shopping for the next year starts the day after the present Christmas. Not only does it allow me to wait for good deals, but it’s much nicer on the bank account to spread out Christmas expenses over 12 months. A tip I read in Pinterest that I thought was a good idea was to purchase a small gift card with every paycheck. That way, when Christmas arrives, you have a whole bunch of gift cards to buy presents with and won’t be racking up debt on the credit card.” – Kristen E.

These tips are really good and will help anyone save some much needed funds… Also, if you’re in a large family you could suggest that all adults buy for the kids only to help take some of the strain off purchasing for everyone. Then, the adults could all bring one gift, wrapped, and do an exchange of sorts… make sure you set a minimum, maximum, gift limit. 🙂