7 Smart Ways to Save During the Holiday Season

The average person in the US spends nearly $1,000 during the holiday season – which is a significant chunk of change. But budgeting for the holidays doesn’t have to be an oxymoron! With a little planning and some financial smarts, you can easily survive the festive season without going into the red. Read on for seven savings tips which will get your budgeting in tip-top shape during the holidays.

1. Start Your Holiday Budget Now

Don’t wait until you’re halfway through your advent calendar to get that holiday budget going! The best time to plan for smart spending is right now; before the expenses of the season start creeping up. Decide how much dough you’re ready to part with, then compare that with a list of the most likely expenses such as gifts and decoration. And, don’t forget about outside expenses such as a new party dress or paying for your share of festive cocktails with work colleagues. The cost of one-off holiday events can add up fast, especially if you’re not prepared.

2. Get Creative With Your Gifts

This savings tip is a firm favorite of budgeting experts, and for good reason – it really works! Instead of dropping a small fortune on the latest toys, gadgets or other pre-packaged gifts, give your friends and family something with a touch of creativity that will cost you less, and stand out from everything else under the tree. Food-related gifts can be easy, festive and inexpensive to prepare; such as flavored salt, or banana bread mix in a mason jar. For creative kids gifts, you might make a batch of homemade play dough or create clothespin dolls with a bit of thread, clothespins and fabrics scraps.

3. DIY the Décor

As long as you’re getting into the DIY spirit with your holiday gifts, why not do the same for décor? This year, challenge yourself and your family to not spend a single penny on single-use decorations items, which is great for your budgeting as well as the environment. Natural foliage such as evergreen sprigs, pine cones and holly berries make for picture-perfection decorations and won’t cost a cent. There are also tons of patterns online for paper decorations, which you can make from newspaper pages or those colorful holiday advertisements which seem to be everywhere at this time of year.

4. Track Spending With an App

Even the best savings tips in the world won’t work if you don’t stick to them! To help, track your spending throughout the holidays with a budgeting app. Mint and Level Money are popular choices, but do some research and see what works for you. The right tracking app will make it easy (and maybe even fun!) to enter information every time you spend. You might even want to set up a special savings account just for holiday expenses, and use that to keep tighter tabs on how much you’ve budgeted and how much you’re spending throughout the season.

5. Shop Off-Season

Just because you’re shopping in wintertime doesn’t mean you have to limit your gift selection to wool sweaters and fuzzy slippers. Shopping for off-season goods will give you access to a whole world of discounts. Got a friend who’s headed to Bermuda next spring? Buy her a playful summer sunhat now. Is your uncle obsessed with his garden? He’ll appreciate a new begonia pot, whatever the time of year. Off-season items are usually the first thing to go on sale when retailers need to clear out room for new holiday-season stock, and if you shop smart, you can find some great gifts at a great discount.

6. Cut Out Impulse Buys

When every aisle of every store is stocked to the brim with heartwarmingly festive items, you will no doubt be tempted to sidestep your budget for the occasional scented candle or spool or ribbon. But don’t do it – stick to your savings tips! Remind yourself of the budget you set at the beginning of the holidays and add every single purchase to your spending tracker; both of which should help to cut out the impulse buys.

7. Give a Gift for Later

If your budget is genuinely too tight to even imagine shopping for Christmas gifts, give yourself a break. After all, the holiday season is about so much more than buying. One option, especially if you’re operating under a tight budget now but expecting a promotion or bonus in the new year, is to give a gift for later. Simply write out a nice, hand-made certificate explaining what the gift is an when it’s coming. You could write your nephew a certificate for an ice cream cone in June, or give your best friend a certificate for a gal-pal cocktail come Valentine’s Day.