The Frugal Free Gal

Christmas isn’t on the mind for many families until towards the end of November. Many families wait until Black Friday or Cyber Monday to complete their shopping. Some may complete it all at once and some may complete it throughout the end of November and during the month of December. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars all at once to complete your Christmas shopping, why not shop throughout the year?

First, you’ll want to make sure you have your list ready of people that you need to buy for throughout the year. Then, create a budget of how much you’ll be spending for each person, and what he/she may like or want.

How to Shop for Christmas Presents Throughout the Year (Instead of All At Once) AND Save Money, Too!

1. Shop for 1-2 People Each Month

If you set aside money each month for 1-2 people on your list, chances are, you won’t go into a huge amount of debt by getting all of your shopping completed month by month. Budget for about $50-$100 a month for 1-2 people and do this each month until you are finished shopping.

2. Shop the Clearance Section Online or in Stores

Just about every store has a clearance aisle. You can score some pretty great items at a low price on the clearance racks. If you see items on the shelves that you think your recipient will like, purchase the items and put them in the gift closet and save them for Christmas. You can also find great clearance items online.

3. Use Rewards Points or Rebates

If you have any accounts earning rewards points, use your rewards points for Christmas presents! This includes any credit or debit card rewards from Swagbucks or Ibotta, etc. If you are like me and you have joined several different rewards programs, I encourage you to keep an excel sheet with your programs and amount earning listed so that you don’t forget about your extra cash! Every bit of cash adds up.

4. Re-Gift

If you have new items sitting around your home unopened, consider putting them away for someone that may need or want it. Just make sure you don’t give it back to the same person that gave it to you! Re-gifting is not a bad idea if you know you don’t love the item or if you know you’ll never use it.

5. Shop for Brand New Items at Thrift Stores

You can find brand new items at thrift stores at a low price. You’ll be able to tell since the items usually still have the tag hanging on them or the item is still in the box. You’ll pay way less for the item at a thrift store than you would at a retail store.

6. Shop the Deals at Amazon

I check the Deals at Amazon throughout the year to see if there’s anything that would make a great Christmas gift. Amazon is my favorite go-to place for most of my holiday shopping needs!

Remember, you don’t have to go into debt in December because of Christmas gifts. If you plan your shopping ahead of time and complete your shopping throughout the year, you’ll save money and have all of your shopping done early. Then, you can enjoy a less stressful holiday season!

When you really think about it, Christmas is a holiday jam packed with strange traditions. A jolly, fat man who comes down the chimney in the dead of night to deliver gifts? Hanging old socks from the fireplace mantle in hopes that they’ll be filled with trinkets in the morning? Both are odd, that’s for sure, but no tradition is stranger than chopping down a tree, dragging it into the house, and decorating it with hundreds of colored ornaments and lights.

But as odd as it may seem, the Christmas tree is still my favorite part of the holiday. And with trees ranging in price from $25 (for the sickly little real ones) all the way up to $500 (for the spectacular fake ones), it can also be pretty costly.

1. Buy A Fake Tree 

I’m a real tree kind of gal (always have been, always will be), but the easiest way to eliminate the annual $50 to $75 cost of buying a real tree is buy buying an artificial one. Sure, there’s the initial cost of the tree, but after that, it’s paid for. You just have to drag it out of the attic and set it up. And the best part? No pine needles on the carpet.

Even though a good artificial Christmas tree will cost anywhere from $100 to $300, you can cut that cost in half by buying your tree in the days after Christmas when stores slash prices on their holiday stuff. You can also shop your local thrift stores to find great deals on fake trees. While you’re at it, feel free to stock up on wrapping paper and decorations for next year!

2. Buy A Real Tree

If you’re buying a real tree, you’ve got two options: The tree lot at the mall (or dozens of other places in your area) or a cut-it-down-yourself tree farm. Prices vary widely at both places, so be sure to shop around to find the best deals. Expect to pay anywhere from $5 to $10 per foot, depending upon the type of tree and where you live (you don’t even want to know what people pay for real trees in Hawaii!).

3. Cut One Down In Your Backyard

If you have a backyard or some woodland with a selection in it, you might consider finding and cutting down your own tree. Total cost: Absolutely nothing! Of course, that’s assuming you can find a suitable tree. You might have to make some compromises when it comes to finding the “perfect” tree, but you can’t beat the price, right?

If you do decide to chop from your own stock, be sure to plant another tree it its place. In two or three years, it should be ready for its Christmas debut!

Do you have any tips on saving money on a Christmas tree? 

It’s that time of year again! The holidays are fast approaching and that means it’s time to start thinking about your Christmas gift budget.

Whether you’re looking to save money this year or just want to be more organized, planning ahead can make a big difference.

Here are a few tips to help you get started.

Christmas is around the corner!

You can already see the deals circulating around for the holiday season! 

Amazon, Target, and Walmart are my favorite shopping destinations and you’ll find me browsing there regularly! Other retailers that I like to browse are Best Buy and Kohl’s.

Although the holidays are approaching and near, have you put much thought into what you are going to be spending over the holidays or what you’ve already spent?

It’s very important to sit down early and start planning out your Christmas Gift Budget. This should not take very long and could end up saving you money if you plan well.

Plan Your Christmas Gift Budget

1. First, find a quiet place to plan, away from the kids and other distractions.

2. With a notepad and pencil, write down everyone that you plan to buy gifts for over Christmas.

Consider family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, teachers, holiday party gift exchanges, and other special gifts that you may buy each year.

Remember to include packaging costs. Will you need wrapping paper, gift bags, gift bows, gift boxes, or gift tags?

FREE Printable Christmas Gift Tags

Try to reuse gift bags and accessories from last year if you have some left. Packaging costs can be expensive, so be sure to plan for this. The dollar store has great prices on gift packaging.

3. Set your overall gift budget.

Do you plan to spend $100 this year on Christmas gifts? $500? $1000+?

Be sure to take a look at your finances before hand to see what you can afford. Are you having to put everything on credit?

Take a step back and try to find more frugal ways of gift giving so that you do not end up in debt this holiday season because of gift giving.

Do you make gifts or have a gift closet that you can pull from that could cut costs?

3. Assign a limit to what you will spend on each gift, and stick to it.

Consider taxes, especially if its a high dollar gift.

For example, if you only want to spend $25 on a child, try to find something that is $20-$23 so that after taxes, you aren’t going over your budget.

4. Decide what you plan to get each member on your list.

There are so many gift options to choose from this year!

Assign a category to each member you plan to buy for. Make sure it is something that will work with your budget.

Here are some ideas:

Holiday Gift Guide

Home Gift Guide

Electronics Gift Guide

Holiday Toy List

Fashion Gift Guide

5. Decide where you will be buying each gift.

Do you have to make a trip to the mall for the gift? Is this something that you will be purchasing online? I personally complete most of my shopping online at Amazon each year!

Be sure to keep in mind shipping costs and taxes if you will be buying online and make sure that this too, will work with your budget.

After your list is complete, combine shopping trips and take care of getting each gift at each specific store.

You don’t want to have to spend extra on gas from traveling back and forth to the same store, when you could have gotten everything all at once!

Top Retailers:

Amazon

Target

Walmart 

Best Buy

Kohl’s

6. Consider how you will be paying for each item. Which gifts will you be paying cash for? Which gifts will go on credit? Which gifts do you already have at home from sales/stocking up?

Do you have a rewards program that will take care of a few gifts or any gift cards laying around that need to be cashed in?

Don’t forget to cash in your Fetch Rewards points for gift cards if you have any points to redeem!

7. Gather any coupons you have that match your gift ideas.

If you receive coupons in the mail, this is the time to use these if they are not expired. You also still have time to wait to see if any of these items go on sale.

8. Decide the deadline for purchasing these gifts. When do you need to have them purchased and wrapped by?

Is there a party at the beginning of December? Can you wait until closer to Christmas?

9. Add up your spending column for each gift and make sure that you have not gone over your budget.

Go through and make any changes if you have gone over your budget.

10. Plan your shopping trips, take your list with you, and enjoy saving money and staying within your budget this holiday season!

Do you have a Christmas gift budget already in place?

Do you plan to create one?

Let us know your thoughts on a Christmas budget below. Be sure to add any tips that work for you.