8 Creative Ways to Save Dollars for Christmas
The Christmas season is one of my favorite times of the year. I love sitting by the fireplace with my family while watching Christmas movies. My absolute favorite would be Jingle All the Way! (don’t judge me ha). I love Christmas music! In fact, I’m listening to the Boyz 2 Men Christmas album as I write this blog! I love indulging in caramel brulee lattes (with almond milk) from my local coffee shops! But more than anything, I love that it’s a season of gifting and generosity.
On the other side of the coin, for many different reasons, the Christmas season can also be stressful. Part of the stress that even I have dealt with has been the internal pressure to purchase Christmas gifts. With proper planning and preparation, I believe some of this stress can be eliminated. The desire to serve and give are phenomenal values that many people possess. Sometimes we have to get creative to live out those values. Here are 8 ways to save dollars for Christmas:
1) Cancel Subscriptions: Based on how many streaming and non-streaming services you have, cancelling subscriptions can save you hundreds of dollars. In an age where binge watching is common, this would allow you to binge your favorite shows upon restarting your services.
2) Review and Shop Insurances: Many people have auto insurance and even have home insurance. It is best practice to review and shop to ensure you’re still getting the best rates at least once a year. If you haven’t done so this year, I encourage you to do so.
3) Use Old Gift Cards: Gift cards are some of the best gifts ever. Mainly because of their convenience. People receive gift cards for many different occasions such as birthdays, thank you gifts, weddings, baby showers, you name it. Sometimes those gift cards can stack up. In those cases, it can be a gift that keeps on gifting…literally!
4) Shop Online: In the age of technology, we have the ability to shop online at any given moment. Shopping online provides convenience in a season where time is hard to stretch. Not only does online shopping save you time, it can also save dollars by potentially eliminating the impulse to by items that catch your eye in person.
5) Shop Early: Christmas is the same day every year. However, throughout the year there are sales going on that typically don’t exist the week of Christmas or the day before. Planning and preparation are your friends that will propel you to purposeful spending. Whether shopping in person or shopping online, doing so early could be of great benefit.
6) Make a budget: Some of the best things we enjoy in life have boundaries. Football has the white borders around the field to keep everyone inside those lines. Without those lines, it would be total chaos and fans, coaches, referees, and even the players wouldn’t enjoy it. There are blessings in the boundaries! Setting boundaries around your finances, especially this time of year, will bless you and your family. Don’t look at a budget as a restriction on what you can’t spend but instead the freedom to spend what you can.
7) Increase Your Income: I believe that we all are created with certain gifts. Often times, those gifts can produce income for us. I encourage you to dive deep and discover out ways to monetize your gifts. What are you passionate about? What are you good at? What would the world pay you for? Another way to increase income is to sell unused items in your closet. Collecting shoes is a hobby I really enjoy doing. But sometimes I’d sell shoes out of my closet for extra income. That’s something I do. But whatever you choose to do, don’t compromise your integrity, and keep it legal haha.
8) Be Creative with Gifts: One of my favorite Christmas games to play is Dirty Santa. Not only is it a fun game that can get intense, it’s a game that is budget friendly. Basing gifts off the recipients love languages can be huge! Writing a sentimental letter to someone whose love language is words of affirmation would bless them a lot. Serve sticks would be a great gift for someone who LL is acts of service. Serve sticks are acts of service written on popsicle sticks and placed in a jar. The recipient then would turn a stick in to you and you would have to serve them in that way. Depending on how many you make, it could be a year’s worth of acts of service. I encourage you to figure out your circle’s love language if this is an avenue you choose.
There are many ways to save dollars for Christmas even beyond the eight provided. I hope this list gets your creative juices overflowing and blesses you in a way that you can be a blessing to those around you this Christmas season! Never forget to create the life you love!