Presents
Many of us have a number of gifts that we need to buy – some big and some small. But if you don’t shop smart, your gift shopping might leave a rather nasty hole in your pocket. Here are some tips on how to make gift shopping a little easier on your wallet.
Don’t wait till the holidays to buy
Which sounds more attractive; spending hundreds of dollars within a single week in December, or spreading that same amount across several weeks and months of the year? If you can sort out at least a few of your purchases throughout the year, your wallet will thank you when it comes time for doing the bulk of your holiday shopping in November and December. You could even take advantage of the mid-year sales to do a majority of your gift shopping, and leave yourself with very little that needs buying in the lead-up to the 25th!
Plan your spending
A lack of planning is your budget’s absolute worst enemy; there’s nothing more risky than walking into a shopping center with no pre-determined budget or idea of who’s getting what. Take half an hour out of your evening at home to sit down and sort out how much you can afford to spend on gifts this season, list the people you need to buy gifts for, and figure out what you could get them within your budget.
Do a family-wide Secret Santa
If you and your immediate family are confident that you could make it work, why not try a Secret Santa? Not only would it be much easier on the family wallet, but it would potentially encourage a bit more thought being given to what’s being bought. It can take some serious brainpower to find a gift that could be just as well-received by a mother as it could by a young child!
