The Frugal Free Gal

The holidays are filled with tips for how to save money on gifts, decorations, Christmas trees, and meals, but as we get closer to the big day, the most important thing to save on might just be your sanity. After all, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, what with all the decorations, gifts, Christmas trees and meals (and trying to save on all of them).

These simple steps should help you reduce holiday burnout and, hopefully, restore a little bit of sanity to a sometimes stressful holiday season.

1. Set Realistic Expectations

Repeat after me: Not every gift will be perfect and not every party will be, either. There will be burnt cookies (don’t worry, the dog – or your husband – will eat them). The sooner you realize that your December won’t go exactly how you had hoped, the sooner you can nip holiday stress in the bud.

2. Treat Yourself Right 

You may gain weight during the holidays. That’s okay. But don’t go crazy and throw your diet out the window for five weeks, because that’ll only add to your woes. Stick to your diet as much as possible (it’s okay to cheat often this month) and try to squeeze in some exercise now and then. And at the end of each day, don’t forget to get some sleep!

3. Get Organized

Take a few minutes to make a plan for the following day. It’ll help you sleep better, and it’ll help you tackle the next day’s tasks in a calmer, more organized manner. Just remember tip #1 — set realistic expectations – which means you’re not going to start and finish your Christmas shopping all in the one day.

4. Take A Break

You have to catch your breath now and then, so set aside some time each day to do something relaxing. Take a nap, read a book, watch a movie, or call a friend and de-stress together. You might even designate an entire day each week as a “no holiday stuff” day. Hard to imagine, I know, but it’s possible.

Do you have any tips to add for beating holiday stress? 

In the past, I admit that I have gone way overboard on purchasing holiday gifts for my kids. I entered every holiday season without a solid spending plan in place. This typically resulted in me buying too many gifts that weren’t really necessary. This holiday season, I made a few changes. My husband and I started a strict budget last year and we’ve been trying our best to stick to it.

Thankfully, we are in a good place and we didn’t go over the budget on Christmas gifts this year! We are entering 2019 completely debt free. This is the book that helped us start our journey to becoming debt free! You, TOO can start the new year without going into huge debt from overspending during the season. Here are a few tips.

7 Ways to Save Money on Gifts This Holiday Season

Budget, budget, budget.

You must have a plan this holiday season if you don’t want to overspend or go into debt. Set an amount that you can afford comfortably and make a plan to stick to that amount without going over. Try to shop in one place to avoid hefty shipping charges. We find great deals at Amazon every holiday season! We use Amazon Prime to get free shipping.

Enjoy this special offer: Try Amazon Prime FREE for 30 Days!

Create a list.

Write down the names of everyone you plan to buy for. Include family, friends, coworkers, teachers, etc. If you will be attending any holiday parties with gift exchanges, be sure to include those expenses as well.

Assign an amount.

Assign an amount that you want to spend on each person. Stick to the amount when shopping. Remember the budget!

Make gifts!

Keep in mind that you don’t have to go to a retail store or mall to find gifts for loved ones. You can make gifts, too. Consider DIY gifts for a few of the recipients on your list.

Gifts in Jars are always affordable and popular gifts.

Re-gift.

This can be a controversial topic, but if you have been given a gift that you think someone else will enjoy, give it to someone that you think will benefit from it.

You can even shop at thrift stores throughout the year and find unopened gifts at a low price. Just place them in your gift closet until you are ready to give them to the recipient.

Shop at dollar stores for stocking stuffers.

You can fill a stocking with great items from Dollar Tree. Choose 5-10 items to include in stockings.

Find items like candy, small toys, hair supplies, toothbrushes, notebooks, school supplies, and more at the dollar store!

50+ Stocking Stuffers for Under $3

Beauty Gifts for Under $3

Give the gift of time.

Give the gift of time. The gift of time can be one of the greatest gifts of all. Remember the reason for the season. Money doesn’t buy love. Create special memories this holiday season with family and friends. Memories are FREE!

Bonus Tip: Don’t forget to check all of your rewards accounts to see if you have an extra cash or rewards balance from places like: Swagbucks, Ebates, or Ibotta.

Keep these tips in mind this holiday season. Do you have any tips to add to this list? How do you save on gifts during the holidays?

By a show of hands, who actually likes sending Christmas cards? Okay, so a few of you might have your hand raised (I admire your enthusiasm), but if you’re like me, you still have to buy them and then scramble to get them in the mail a week before Christmas. If that’s you (or something similar), here are four ways to save a little money on cards this year.

1. Send e-Cards – Christmas cards via e-mail? Do I dare? I’ve considered this option in the past, but the darn tradition is so rooted in sending and receiving actual paper cards that I quickly reconsidered. If you don’t mind bucking tradition and saving a lot of money (e-cards are free!), the answer to your Christmas card woes is just a click away.

2. Trim Your List – Your list has probably grown over the years, but you can cut your card budget in half by putting that bloated list on a diet. If they’re not a close friend or family member, or they didn’t send you a card last year, you should consider removing them from your list.

View the Christmas card selection at Amazon.

3. Shop After Christmas – This tip won’t help you save money on cards this year, but it will help you save 50 to 75 percent on next year’s cards! Stores slash their prices dramatically on the day after Christmas. Stock up then, but don’t wait too long to get out there and shop because there won’t be much left on December 27.

4. Send a Letter – The easiest way to save on cards is to not buy cards! Instead, send a holiday letter. It can be a hand-written letter – if you’ve got a short list and a lot of time to write – or a printed letter with a short personal note written at the end.

5. Shop at the Dollar Store – Yes, we have high expectations for our Christmas cards, but the dollar store has some nice options at very nice prices. Check out the variety here. Is that $4 box of cards as nice as that $20 box of cards you saw at the mall? Maybe, maybe not, but the $16 you’ll save (or $32 if you have to buy two boxes) is pretty darn nice!

Related: Ways to Earn Extra Cash and Rewards for the Holidays

Wanna know the double whammy about preparing Thanksgiving dinner?

In addition to requiring half a day of preparation (or more if you count the planning phase) only to be devoured in about 20 minutes, it’s also kind of expensive.

Actually, let me rephrase that – it’s very expensive. With the cost of the average Thanksgiving dinner approaching $50 – a total that seems low, if you asked me – it’s important to find ways to cut corners on cost without cutting corners on taste.

I paid a visit to the buffet of inspiration known as the internet to round up four Turkey Day dishes and ideas guaranteed to reduce your grocery bill this Thanksgiving.

The free turkey

The bird is the most expensive course on the menu (a 16-pounder will cost somewhere between $10 and $15). Cut this cost by taking advantage of the “free turkey” offers available at many grocery stores when you cash in your member rewards points.

Mashed potatoes

It’s just potatoes, milk, butter and some salt and pepper. If this meal costs more than 50 cents per serving, you’re doing something wrong.

Green bean casserole

No Thanksgiving is complete without this American classic. But it’s easy to spend $15 or more on this dish, which is why I recommend simplifying it by sticking to the Campbell’s recipe. Just six ingredients and you’re done.

Bring your own side dish/dessert

One of the easiest ways to cut costs is by asking guests to bring a side dish or dessert.

To make it fun, challenge them to bring something made with an old family recipe or something that reminds them of Thanksgivings from their childhood.

Just be sure to coordinate what everyone is bringing or else you’ll wind up with five pumpkin pies and six sides of creamed corn!

How do you save on Thanksgiving dinner?