The average American family spends quite a bit on basic holiday purchases such as gifts, decorations, trees and cards a year.

While some families may be able to spend that much or more without batting an eye, for families who are pinching pennies, finding extra money in the budget for holiday expenses can be next to impossible.

There’s no need to spend that much if you don’t want to!

Instead of running out to the stores this year to grab all of the season’s latest and greatest toys and electronics in order to keep up with the Jones’s, shop smart this holiday season and save big.

Here are three ways to do just that.

3 Ways to Shop Smart this Holiday Season

Choose Toys Carefully

Have you ever purchased tons of great toys for your children, only to have them play with one or two and ignore the rest?

This used to happen in our family year after year. Why not save money by buying fewer toys, but toys that your children will actually play with?

This year, take some time to think about the sorts of toys your children truly love and play with all of the time. Do they love dress up clothes, puzzles or books? Toys that allow them to use their imagination or toys with buttons?

Find a few toys you know they will love, and skip all of the season’s hot items or clearance items that are just going to sit on the shelf.

Even if you find a killer low price on a hot toy, it’s not a good deal if your children aren’t going to play with it.

Give Things Kids Need

Do your children already have a room full of toys?

If so, they don’t really need several more. Instead of buying things because you’re “supposed to,” why not buy things your kids actually need or take the things you were going to buy anyways and call them Christmas presents?

For example, is your toddler ready to move from the crib to a big girl bed? Instead of buying the bedding just because, buy it as a Christmas present.

Do your kids need new shirts and pajamas? Find some they will love and give them for Christmas. Sports equipment, fees for extracurricular activities, musical instruments and new shoes all make great gifts.

Toothbrushes, hair brushes, hair bows, chapstick and fun socks all make great stocking stuffers.

50 Stocking Stuffers for Under $3

Beauty Gifts Under $3

Spend Wisely

There are SO many ways to save money this holiday season, you’d be foolish not to try some of them, even if you can’t do them all.

• Keep an eye out for great deals
• Use coupons
• Shop sales
• Hit the clearance racks first
• Price match
• Shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday for great deals
• Comparison shop online
• Look for free shipping
• Make a list and stick to it
• Make a budget
• Pay with cash instead of credit

The truth is, you only have to spend as much on Christmas as you want to. It’s your money and you control how you spend it.

There’s no reason to overspend to keep up with the Jones’s or because you feel you have to. Shop smart this holiday season and make this year your best one yet!

How do you keep your holiday spending under control? Share your best tips below!

Related: 3 Ways to Get Your Christmas Shopping Done Early

Do you find yourself struggling to save money on groceries? Groceries make up a huge part of the monthly budget. We spend a lot of food, almost comparable to making a large car payment each month! You can significantly cut your food budget when you shop smart and plan ahead before your shopping trip. Here are 10 ways to save at the grocery store.

1. Create a monthly budget for groceries.

Decide on what you can spend on groceries each month and try to stick to your budget. A typical family food budget is anywhere from $400-$600 depending on the size of the family.

Related: How to Create a Budget that Really Works

2. Find coupons to match your list.

Create your shopping list first for the items that you need. Next, search for coupons to match. You’ll be less tempted to buy things you don’t need and avoid that impulse feeling of buying just because you have a coupon. Don’t forget to check popular money saving apps like Ibotta and Checkout 51 for rebates on your purchases.

I just received my check from Checkout 51 recently. I’m about to earn cash back with Ibotta again, too!

My Ibotta earnings:

Related: The Best Places to Find Online Printable Coupons

3. Use the store circular to determine what’s on sale.

Sit down with the store circular and look for the items that you know you buy on a regular basis that are on sale. You’ll be able to use this to create your list in the next step.

4. Create a list before you go to the store and buy ONLY what’s on the list.

It’s easy to get to the store and think, “Oh! I need that, too!” It’s ok to buy these items, but remember that if you are on a budget, you may be going over your budget if you do not stick to what’s on the list.

5. Eat before you shop.

Have you ever gone to the grocery store on an empty stomach? When you go to the store hungry, you are much more tempted to pull items off the shelf that you don’t necessarily need. Your stomach is telling you what to buy!

6. Shop alone, if possible.

Toddlers can be great at keeping us distracted while shopping as they sit in the cart, get out of the cart, push the cart, ride on the front of the cart, and try to get away with whatever they want to do. We also know that they like to pull items off the shelf. (Does any of this sound familiar?) Try to leave the kids at home with the husband or a sitter if necessary. When you do this, you have more time to compare prices and read labels. Often times, shopping alone for moms can feel like a nice vacation!

7. Stock up on items that you regularly buy that are on sale.

If you find an item on sale that you buy on a regular basis, stock up. By doing this, you are saving money in the long-run and cutting your store trips down. *Note: This is a great method if you consider this in your budget.

Related: How to Create a Small Stockpile

8. Browse your cart before checkout.

Scan your cart before heading to the checkout line to make sure you have everything you need and want. Compare your list to the items in your cart and place items back if you don’t need them or if you feel you may go over your budget.

9. Use your coupons!

How many times have you taken coupons to the store only to realize you forgot to use them? Keep coupons organized in an envelope, small coupon file, or binder. Before checkout, have your coupons ready to go! If you want to find coupons to use at the grocery store to save, you can print coupons here.

You can see my coupon binder in this post. I no longer use a binder, though. I went back to using an accordian style file since it fits into my purse. 

10. Double check your receipts.

Cashiers are human, and they make mistakes. At times, items are not scanned correctly, and are scanned twice. There are times when prices do not show up correctly. Check your receipts after you checkout to make sure everything was scanned correctly.

11. Bonus Tip: If you want to avoid getting in your car and driving to the store, consider shopping online for your groceries with AmazonFresh or Amazon Prime Pantry. By shopping online, you could save money on gas and time. You may also avoid temptation to buy as much as you would in a regular grocery store due to the large selection at local retailers.

Do you have any tips for saving at the grocery store?

With the holiday season fast approaching, if there was ever a time to cut back on your budget and create a little extra breathing room, it’s now. Unfortunately, however, many of the most popular strategies–such as cutting coupons and shopping around, for example–can be too time consuming to be practical when your schedule is jam-packed with holiday events.

While I still definitely recommend checking for coupons quickly before you head to the store, clipping coupons doesn’t have to be your primary strategy–especially during this busy time of year. In fact, here are four great ways to reduce your food budget without clipping coupons at all.

1. Shop Your Pantry First

Instead of constantly running to the store to get the things you need for dinner, take a minute to shop your pantry first. What can you throw together from ingredients you already have on hand?

• Pasta Roni, chicken and peas
• Salsa Chicken (chicken, salsa and cheddar cheese)
• Meatloaf (hamburger, whatever else you have on hand–this one is very versatile)
• Macaroni and cheese with deli ham and broccoli
• Breakfast for dinner (eggs, french toast, etc)
• Leftovers from the night before

The possibilities are endless! Even if you truly don’t have all of the ingredients for a meal, by checking your pantry to see what you do have first, you can often come up with a dinner idea that only requires one new ingredients from the store–not five.

2. Substitute Ingredients

Alternately, if you’re only missing one ingredient from a recipe you want to make, you may be able to substitute it or leave it out altogether. For example, you could…

• Use Ritz crackers instead of bread crumbs
• Use plain yogurt instead of sour cream
• Use a different meat, vegetable, type of noodle, etc.

You can also make many of your own ingredients with things you already have on hand. For example, you could make your own:

• Cream of chicken soup
• Homemade ranch dressing
• Taco seasoning

3. Reduce Food Waste

How often do you throw leftover meals or ingredients away simply because you don’t get around to eating them? Instead of tossing them, use them up!

• Eat leftovers for lunch the next day (oldest first)
• Hold a weekly leftover night
• Meal plan so leftover ingredients will be used in another recipe later the same week
• Save extra vegetables in a bowl in the freezer to be made into vegetable soup
• Save chicken bones and turn them into homemade chicken stock (it’s easy–and yummy!)

4. Cook Once, Eat Twice

Are you guilty of going through the drive thru or buying frozen foods more often than you should because they are fast and easy? Save time and eat healthier with the “cook once, eat twice” technique.

The next time you cook your favorite meal, instead of cooking one batch, cook twice as much. Freeze the second half for later, and the next time you don’t have the time or energy to cook, all you’ll have to do is heat it up! Not a fan of leftovers? Why not trade with a neighbor? You can cook for both families on one night; she can cook for both on another. You don’t even have to have dinner together. Simply walk the dish over by dinner time. This way, you don’t have to cook nearly as often and you get to try tons of new and exciting meals.

Saving on groceries doesn’t have to require hours browsing through deals sites, clipping coupons and writing out match-ups. If you’re running short on time but need to see some big savings on your groceries, these four grocery savings techniques will help!

If you feel like you still want to use coupons to save money, here are the best places to find online printable coupons.

Save money at Disney World. That may not sound like a doable statement, but it is. A lot of us still have this idea that going to Disney World and saving money are mutually exclusive ideas, and way back in the day, it used to be. It’s not like that anymore. While Disney used to be the place you went on vacation if you had money to burn, it can now be more affordable. Here are some tips to save money and still experience the wonder of The Magic Kingdom.

Save Money at Disney World with These Tips

With these tips, you’ll be able to experience Disney World in all its glory without worrying so much about your pocket book. Because let’s be honest, it’s hard to have fun when you’re worrying about your wallet.

1. Go During The Off Season

Just like it is with almost anything, the off season is one of the best ways to save money. Everybody and their brother goes to Disney World during the summer and for holidays. Instead of visiting during those peak times, head to the park during the off season. You’ll find better pricing because they need more visitors. Another bonus of the off season is that the park isn’t so crowded.

2. Check with Disney for Deals

I wasn’t kidding when I said that Disney has become more affordable. There was a time when going to Disney meant paying through the nose and living with it. Now, even Disney is offering deals on their park. A great way to save money is going right to the source and seeing what sort of offers Disney has going for your desired vacation time. Just remember that off season tip. You’ll get the best deals from Disney in the off season.

3. Purchase Multi-Day Passes

There are a lot of ways to save money on your Disney trip, but extra cheap tickets aren’t one of them. That’s one cost you’ll just have to live with going into it. However, if your trip is long enough, and you plan on being at the park everyday, consider getting a multi-day pass. With a multi-day pass, the ticket price isn’t quite so bad. In fact, an adult pass is almost 50% cheaper if you opt for a 7 day pass.

4. Don’t Drive

You might think that driving to Disney would save money, but these days, Disney offers buses via the free Disney Transportation System. All you need to do is get yourself that far, and then you can use the free DTS. While this saves you money on gas, be aware that the buses are generally crowded, and the travel is slow going. If you have the patience for that, it’s an excellent way to save money, and especially hassle. Have you ever tried finding a parking spot at the park? Yeesh.

5. Don’t Stay at the Resorts

While the magic of Disney Resort vacationing is touted heavily on television, you can save money and still vacation in style without them. Rather than staying at one of the resorts – which gets especially pricey for families of more than 4 – consider staying at a McMansion instead. There are hundreds of them, and they’re only a few miles away. They’re swanky, too. They come decked out to the nines with pools, grills, big-screen TVs, and more, and 3 bedroom rentals start at as low as $165 a night.

6. Pre-purchase Souvenirs and Trading Pins

Souvenirs purchased at the park can cost a pretty penny. Instead of purchasing souvenirs at the park, purchase souvenirs ahead of time and pack them with you. The Disney section at Walmart has a great selection of Disney items at an affordable price. You can also find several cheap Disney items at your local dollar store. If your child insists on buying souvenirs around the park, this is a great time to pull out a special surprise that you have pre-purchased, saving you a lot of money! If you are into trading pins at Disney World, you can find Disney trading pins at Amazon.

7. Pack Lunches and Snacks

Packing our own food was one of our top ways to save money at Disney World. You are allowed to bring in food and snacks that do not require heating to the parks at Disney World. It’s always a good idea to eat a big breakfast at your hotel before arrival to the parks and then eat a packed lunch and/or snacks throughout the day. Our favorite foods packed were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, granola bars, and other light snacks. By evening, you may run out of food to eat depending on how much you packed, so you’ll either have to opt for eating at the park (which can cost about $40+ for a family of 4) or you can wait until you leave the park to eat.

8. Request FREE Water

You know I love freebies. Request free water at Disney World Parks at any counter service or snack station. You can also bring your own Brita water bottle with a filter and fill up in case you stop at one of the water fountains for water.

9. Bring Your own Small Spray Bottle

If you go to Disney World during the spring, summer, or early fall, you may want to bring your own small spray bottle and spritz yourself or your children to keep cool during hot months. Spray fans are sold in the park, but they are pretty pricey.

10. Take Your Own Stroller or Borrow One From a Friend

We borrowed a large stroller from a friend and took it with us to the parks to avoid having to pay for lockers. It had a large basket underneath to fit all of our belongings. We were able to use the cup holders in the stroller for drinks, the middle compartment for a few loose items. We could hang our camera bag and other bags from the handle of the stroller. Our small kids switched riding in the stroller when they were tired. It was a HUGE lifesaver on our Disney World trip. A double stroller is a good option if you have very small kids.

11. Bring Your Own Camera and Take Your Own Photos

You have the option to buy photos with the PhotoPass service, but you’ll be paying a lot for your memories. Bring your own camera and take your own photos. You can use your camera to take photos of your family with all of the characters as well as around the park.

12. Don’t Forget an Autograph Book and Pen

Never leave home without a Disney autograph book and pen! You can buy these at the park, but it may be wise to purchase them in advance and have them handy to avoid standing in lines and being tempted to spend more at souvenir shops!

13. Pack the Sunscreen

Protect yourself from the sun. Pack plenty of sunscreen for the whole family to avoid getting sunburned. Take small breaks around the park to avoid getting overheated.

14. Watch FREE Disney Parks Vacation Planning Videos

Make the most of your time at Disney by watching free Disney Vacation Planning videos. Just click the Mickey Mouse banner ad below to access videos.

Save Money Without Skimping on the Magic

The Magic Kingdom is a wonderful place to vacation as a family. Heck, it’s a wonderful place to vacation as an adult if you’re a big time Disney lover. And while, for most of us, it seems like an expensive proposition, the costs can be heavily mitigated with some smart decisions. There is nothing stopping you from seeing Disney World in all its glory while you save money.

Do you have any other tips on how to save money at Disney World or Disney Land?