Ever wonder how to keep from going into debt around Christmas? In this post, I’ll share how to save and make money for Christmas.
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The holidays can be an expensive time of year. Between buying gifts, going to parties, and even traveling, it can all add up and leave you starting the new year off in debt. According to Deloitte’s Holiday Retail Study, the average household will spend around $1,500 on Christmas this year.
If you don’t have that much disposable income to spend this year, here are some ideas to get more money for Christmas, so you don’t have to go into debt.
Saving Money for Christmas
Think Like a Couponer
If you can find items for a good deal and stock up on them when they’re on sale, this is a great way to save money as long as you don’t buy more than you need. For example, if you see a certain food item on sale, you can stock up, and this can be what you bring for all the potluck holiday parties you attend.
This can also be used for gifts.
For example, I could find Bath and Body Works lotions for under $2 each, and I used those for gifts around the holidays. No one knew that instead of $12 per bottle, I only spent $2. So they appreciated the generous gift, and I saved a lot of money. We all won. For more information on how to coupon check out this post.
Get Free Stuff with Couponing
Around the holidays, stores have things they called “loss leaders” to get people into the store. Loss leaders are items that are sold for less than they’re worth to incentivize you to come into the store. While you may save money on the loss leaders, once you’re in the store, retailers try to get you to buy things that will help them make a profit. If you understand this strategy they are using, you can find the loss leaders and only buy those. Stores like CVS, RiteAid, and Walgreens often will give away items for free (with their rewards programs). Check out some examples of the 2019 deals at CVS here. I also love to follow the Krazy Coupon Lady because she gives updates on all the great deals.
Set a Spending Budget
Think about how much you can spend and then consider everyone you want or need to buy gifts for. Take the total budget you can afford and divide that by the number of people you’ll be buying for.
For example, if you only have $300 to spend this Christmas and you have 10 people to shop for, your budget per person would be $30 ($300 divided by 10).
If that doesn’t feel like enough you can cut people off your list (see the gift exchange tip below), make extra money (see below) or just have a conversation with some people about your financial goals and what you can afford. You can also give them permission not to get you a gift. It may feel awkward but you may find that they’ll be relieved to have one less person to shop for as well.
Don’t Use Credit Cards
If you have a tendency to overspend and pay off your Christmas shopping throughout the following year (plus the crazy high interest from credit cards), a simple way to avoid this is to not allow yourself to use credit cards. This way you won’t be able to overspend and you won’t have the burden of interest.
Churn a Credit Card
Alternatively, if you are “good” with credit cards (i.e. you pay them off in full every month to avoid interest charges), you may want to consider churning a credit card. Basically, this means signing up for a rewards credit card and using your holiday shopping to meet the minimum spend amount to get a cashback bonus. For example, the Chase Freedom card has a $200 bonus once you meet the minimum spend of $500 and it has 5% cash back on rotating categories.
Do a Gift Exchange
Consider doing a gift exchange, so you don’t have to buy gifts for everyone. If you have a large family, it can get out of control fast with the number of gifts you feel obligated to buy between cousins and aunts, and siblings. Rather than buying a gift for everyone, set a spending limit for everyone and have everyone pick one person to buy for. This way, everyone has something to open on Christmas, but the stress of shopping for multiple people and spending a lot of money gets reduced. Furthermore, rather than everyone getting a lot of small gifts, everyone can get one larger gift that they actually want.
Rethink Hosting
If you’re living on a tight budget, you may not want to offer to host the holiday party. If you do host, consider doing a potluck-style party and asking everyone to bring a part of the meal. You can even ask someone to be in charge of table settings and even decorations since you are offering up your home.
Shop Online and Use Ebates
If you’re going to shop anyways, you might as well get a percentage back. Sign up for eBates here, and you’ll get a $10 bonus after you spend $25! Click here to get your $10 bonus today.
Buy Discounted Gift Cards on Raise
This is one of my favorite money savings hacks. Do you know how some companies won’t let you use multiple coupons? Well, they will let you use a coupon when you pay with a gift card because they treat the gift card like cash. However, they have no way of knowing whether or not you got your gift card for a discounted price at a place like Costco or if you bought a discounted gift card on Raise.com. Click here to sign up with Raise and get an additional $5 off your first gift card purchase.
Start New Traditions
It took me a while to realize that now that I’m an adult, I get to make my own rules (within reason, of course, I can’t go breaking laws because I made my own rules). So, if you’re not happy with the way your family traditions are running (or how much they’re costing you), you can change them! An example of a frugal tradition you can start is to have a handmade or homemade gift exchange with your family. Not only do you limit the number of people you have to buy for, but you’ll also limit how much you’ll spend on them. You may even find what you make for them has way more meaning than something you could’ve bought at the store.
Buy Used Items
Yes, I know, but this may not work for everyone. However, if you have young children, this is a great idea for them. There’s no chance that my toddler is going to know whether or not the toys I give him are new or not. I don’t even think he understands the concept of new. So, I can get toys and gifts for a fraction of their original cost on websites like Craigslist, eBay, and Offerup. I can also give him hand-me-downs and items I find at yard sales and/or thrift stores.
If this makes you feel “cheap”, try to frame it in the way that it gives you more money to save for their college AND it’s environmentally friendly.
? Hot tip: If any of these tips make you feel “cheap” or you get weird looks from your friends and family, just bring up the environment and how wasteful a lot of gifts are. Sometimes that will land better with them than the money conversation.
She’s not cheap, she’s environmentally conscious. Good for her.
Manage Your Expenses and Cut Unnecessary Costs
This goes without saying, but if needing extra money for Christmas is what motivates you to take a long, hard look at your budget, I’ll take it. Read this post to learn all about how you can manage your expenses and cut unnecessary costs. Also, consider signing up for my freebie at the top of this screen for a free budgeting download.
Pick a Different Date
Ok, this one requires some “outside of the box” thinking. However, who said you must celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December? Ok, I guess it’s the Bible, but you can go to church on the 25th and decide to exchange gifts another day of the year.
If this is too far out there, you can tone it down by giving money as gifts so people can buy their own gifts after Christmas during all the post-Christmas sales.
Ok, now that we’ve talked about all the ways to save money for Christmas, here are some ways to make money for Christmas…
Making Money for Christmas
Ok, if you want an extensive list of side hustles, check out this post. I’ve also listed some quick options for making extra money for Christmas below.
Pet Sit with Rover
Many people travel for Christmas, but they don’t take their pets with them. If you have a safe place to keep pets and you love animals, consider pet sitting. You can find tons of people that need your services with companies like Rover.
Learn More: Side Hustle Ideas: Over 200 Ways to Make Money on the Side
Start an Etsy Shop
Are you super crafty? Do you like to design things? If so, starting an Etsy shop may be right for you. You don’t even have to deal with the hassle of shipping items if you do it right. For example, you can start an Etsy shop selling digital downloads like I did with my store. If you’re not sure where to start, consider investing in a course to help you get started with Etsy. I personally used the Etsy Printables Side Hustle Course to launch my Etsy shop, and I highly recommend it.
Learn More: How to Start Etsy Business: Insane Tips from a 6-Figure Etsy Seller
Start Freelancing
Another great way to make extra money is to do freelance work on the side. For example, you can be a freelance writer, you can do transcription services, the list goes on and on. If you’re interested in freelancing, you could invest in a course like the Freelance Toolkit, or even use a free option like the freelancing course you can take through samaschool.com.
Learn More: 9 Easy and Profitable Online Work at Home Jobs
Sell Baked Goods
The holidays are a great time to sell baked goods if you are good at it and have some amazing recipes. Who wouldn’t want to be the person who brought the most popular dish to the potluck? You can help people be that person!
Sell Stuff you Don’t Need
I don’t know about you, but after Christmas, my house always feels extra full, and I have to find places to keep things. Rather than feeling overwhelmed after Christmas, consider cleaning out your house and selling things you no longer need before Christmas to make room for the new stuff you’ll get. You can sell it on eBay, Craigslist, Offer Up, Poshmark, the list goes on and on…
Recycle Cans
This one is easy, but if you need extra money and you’ve been collecting cans, it’s time to turn them in, baby.
Turn in Your Coins
As a religious credit card user (getting those points!) I rarely have change lying around. However, if you prefer cash, you probably have a coin jar somewhere in your house. Again, if you need extra money, you can turn those coins in and see how much extra money you had laying around.
Sell Trash
I know this sounds crazy, but pawnshops will buy empty boxes for products like iPhones, laptops, etc. They do this because they can charge more when the item is sold in its original box. If you think about it if you wanted to give people used items without them knowing, this may be easy if you simply buy the original box. See, now I have you considering buying trash too!
Ok, so what do you think? Were these helpful? Too crazy? Can you think of any more that I forgot to add? Let me know in the comments below. I really love hearing from you all.
To a happy (and affordable) Christmas!
