7 Tips to Save for Debt-Free Christmas

Christmas might be a time of joy, but it can be a threat to your wallets as well. From shopping for gifts and décor to hosting fancy Christmas dinners, there are a lot of expenses involved. Some of which, one might easily manage, but those who can’t, always end up in dire financial crunches only to add more debt in the end. Nevertheless, Christmas is just around the corner and if you are afraid more than being
happy – you don’t need to anymore. You can still save money this Christmas. Who says you can’t have a frugal Christmas of your own. It’s easy – in fact, to help you out, here are some tips that you can use.

7 tips to save for debt-free Christmas

1. Start a Christmas reserve

You might have a reserve for retirement, medical expenses, emergency funds, so why not have a reserve for

Christmas as well? It does make sense if it would help you remain debt- free during the holiday season. You can consider depositing a little money every month in the reserve. But before you do that, calculate your average Christmas expenses and then divide the amount by 12 (for every month). That’s the amount you need to reserve every month for the year-end Christmas season.

2. Determine the costly expenses on Christmas

If we’re talking money-saving for Christmas, you have to first determine where your money goes during Christmas time.
Is it gifting? Or is it décor? Or fancy dinners?
When you know where you lose money the most, you can then try to save in that particular category. For instance, if you find out that your money is majorly spent on décor, then how about saving by using the past year’s Christmas décor? Trust me; you can do a lot different from what you have. In other words, you can still decorate differently using the same materials. You just have to be creative. Moreover, don’t you feel ashamed in reusing the old décor, it won’t destroy the Christmas spirit – in fact, you will be more rejoiced when you know you won’t be in financial crunches.

3. Always go by a list when you shop for Christmas

Going without a shopping list can be deadly for your budget. You’ll end up buying more than you should, and what

you might not even need. Thus, make a list of all the things you need before going to stores and spending your entire budget. And while shopping, make sure you stick to the list – nothing extra, I repeat nothing! Additionally, it’s important to make sure that you do not shop during Christmas days. Things become really expensive in the festive season. It’s really better to shop before even if you are months away from Christmas.

4. Make use of coupons and cash back

You’re seriously missing out on a lot if you do not use coupons and cash back available to you. Many websites and wallet services allow cash back and coupons that you can use to save money. Additionally, various banks offer credit card points on purchases. You can redeem those points to shop for free. For instance, even Amazon provides coupons. Visit the Amazon App, click Programs and features, and then finally click Amazon coupons. While you are at, don’t hold yourself back thinking you wouldn’t be able to save much. Little savings contribute to huge savings in the end.

When I was growing up, this was similar to layaway. You could put things on layaway and gradually pay them off over time. Because there were four of us kids, and my parents made very little, this was something my Mom used quite a bit. Alternatively, this is like credit cards today, because back in the 90’s I don’t know if lower income people even knew about credit cards. It certainly wasn’t advertised like it is today.

5.     Look for cheaper alternatives

We all have our favorite brands, but in case you think that your brand favorites are expensive and you can find cheaper alternatives, feel free to switch. It would be worth it if it allows you to save money and remain debt-free in the end. Quite honestly, growing up, we had a lot of cheaper, more affordable alternatives. From cereal, to candy in our stockings, to the clothes we wore. It has made me appreciate the things I have now and the ability to buy nicer things. We are trying to pass that appreciation on to the girls by helping them understand the things they WANT versus the things they NEED.

6. Sell old and unused items

When it comes to things we do not need, our houses are full of them. Thus, what you can do is clean your house

to find out such things. Such things can be anything from old laptops, phones, blankets, clothes, and even machinery. Once you accumulate such things you can sell them off on eBay or hold garage sales for the same. The easiest thing to sell when you have children, are toys and clothes. There are resell shops in most big towns and you can purchase gently used, but more affordable things at these places. This is especially great when your kids are young and growing quite rapidly.

If you are looking for electronics, I highly recommend Back Market for anything your family wants for the holidays relating to electronics. Back Market takes electronics that others may have traded in for upgrades and refurbishes them to like new, and sells them to consumers at a much lower rate. I have several iPads from them and they honestly don’t have scratches, dings, or anything wrong with them. They look brand new. They typically come in some sort of packaging from the brand, so you can easily make your family member happy as well as your wallet.

7. Lastly, make use of some Christmas hacks

Reserving the most important for the last, make use of money-saving Christmas hacks.

– Go for handmade gifts – Starting from handmade Christmas cards, to cake, and cookies.

– Opt for Giftcards instead of spending heavily on Christmas gifts.

– For Christmas dinners, encourage everybody to bring in dishes or wine.

– Send e-Christmas cards. Some websites allow you to send them for free. One such website is this.

– Sing Christmas carols, play poker and other games, as a part of fun Christmas traditions instead of going out to expensive and fancy places.

Finally,

Well, that’s it. Now you’re all ready to save money and be debt-free this Christmas. I hope this festive season brings lots of joy, happiness, and prosperity to you and your family!

Merry Christmas!