Christmas is around the corner, and you want to save money during Christmas rather than shop till you drop hehehe!
I keep asking myself why do I like to over spend during Christmas?Have you ever asked yourself that?
During this time of the year I get too excited because members of the family unite from all over the country to celebrate together.
And of course who wouldn’t want the occasion to be a little bit extra and fancy, a long buffet of your favorite dishes from starters to desserts.
So I did an experiment last year and tried going budget friendly with my expenditure.
I never thanked myself enough when I made that decision, because it was the best decision I have ever made during the holidays.
When it comes anything about the holidays my family knows me well how over board I can be.
Let me break down to you exactly how I saved almost $3,000 last year during Christmas.
My Top Ways To Save Money During Christmas
1. Have A Budget Goal
Now listen, this is the best way to save money during every Christmas.
Before I started my little experiment last year I sat down and went through my bank statements and I was shook!
During Christmas holiday I would spend over $7,000-$8,000 buying things which I don’t really need, like a ring light, I don’t even have a Youtube channel why would I need a ring light for?
You see what I mean?
I never had any budget goal of the things I would require. All I did was just to shop until I’m penniless.
Beginning a new year with $0 in my bank account.
So I decided to write down all the necessary things I would need and make an approximate of the money I’m gonna spend.
Point to note: don’t make unrealistic budget goals,like setting a $10 budget when you know that’s not even a third of your gifts.
So my goal was spending at least $5,000 to cater for the important things during Christmas and guess what I did?I exceeded $100.
Total was around $5,092 and I’m happy with that, knowing I saved roughly $3,000.
2. Extract All Extras
I’m guilty when it comes to extras,I used to spend a daily $4 on frappuccinos which is not a necessity in my life.
Infact I have a coffee machine at home which I barely used. So I sat and calculated the $4 for the whole of December which costed me $124.
And I decided to extract it from my little experiment and that just saved me $124 which can be added to my gifts expenses.
Paying for a photo with Santa we are all guilty about that I know hehehe.
A night before Christmas it’s our family tradition for a family photo shoot, so we would hire a professional photographer which would cost around $300-$400.
That was a big extract to my list and ended up saving a whole $400. So last year we substituted a photographer with our iPhones and the pictures were amazing.
I was the photographer of the event hehehe, I enjoyed every single bit.
3. Wait For Sales
Last year I prepared ahead and waited for black Friday to shop for all the gifts.
Gifts usually takes most of my budget, I would spend roughly $1,500 on gifts only.
We are a huge family and I wouldn’t want anyone to miss out. I highly advice to get all the gifts during black Friday that is my biggest tip on saving.
I saved a big $500 on gifts, the things I wanted they were on a crazy sale and I grabbed the chance when I got it hahahah! 🙂
4. Buy Things With Cash
So let me tell you a short story that happened to me, it was hard but worth it at the same time.
I’m soo used to purchase things with my credit card, like literally anything even if its a packet of skittles.
I know right?I’m abit extra sometimes, anyways so back to the story,
My motive last Christmas was to save money no matter what no excuses, like I said my budget was $5,000 so I cashed out $5,500 whereas the $500 was for any emergency I might run into .
After withdrawing the cash,
OMFG!
You can’t believe what I did 🤭,
I destroyed my credit card and trashed it!
Yes you heard that right I sliced my card in pieces and threw it away!
I went hard core that Christmas and I’m gonna do it again this year round except the part of trashing my credit card 😂😂😂😂.
The thought of me speaking about just makes me laugh at myself.
So yeah, my point is try using cash more often because you will have track of everything you buy instead of making purchases using your card.
I’m not saying you trash your card like I did NO WAY! ABSOLUTELY NOT!
5. Make Use Of Discount Stores
I love shopping but mostly I’m a foodie person, I barely spend money buying clothes for myself but instead I rather buy a big box Flamin Hot Cheetos for myself.
One of my best recommended store is Shopkick, I have their app downloaded in my phone.
I have received over $500 free gift cards from their stores.
Month prior I learned about Shopkick from a friend of mine and ever since, it has helped me save soo much money.
They offered me a $500 gift card which I ended up adding to my Christmas expenses and from them I saved $500.
I like their app more than the site I find it convenient to shop.
If you have gift cards I suggest you keep them so that you can add them in your Christmas expenditure.
6. DIY Gifts
Do you like art and craft? I know I do, start creating your gifts with DIY method it’s gonna save you some money.
I DIY’d my mom’s and guess what? it was the most precious thing I would have ever gotten for her.
What did I do? I created a book and design it with our old family photos, all of my childhood memories are in that book.
7. Try Potluck With Your Guests
During Christmas we all invite guests over to our homes. Since we have a big family the amount of food and decor are all over the top.
Normal Christmas I usually hire caters but that’s soooo damn expensive. I try to minimize the amount of food to order.
I’m a big fan of cooking I love watching Youtube video recipes and try out new recipes.
But we are almost around 20+ family member excluding friends.
So I tried potluck style and asked for my guests to bring over some food which helped me save for grocery shopping and the time of making a whole buffet.
Not only did it save me money but also my time, of course I cooked some meals for my guests but this time very minimal dishes.
And we saved on hiring caters.
8. Know When To Start And When To Stop
After buying all your Christmas needs prevent yourself going over to a mall or any shopping errands.
It will tempt you more to get things which you don’t necessarily need.
Make a list of all the things you need to buy for Christmas and set a day to get all the things at once because if you buy things half way through, you will get more than you need.
Before buying anything ask yourself do I really need this?
Your motive is to save money during Christmas not spend it all.
9. Change Your Circle
What do I mean by that? The whole year you barely see some people and barely do you even communicate.
You only see them once a year and that is during Christmas, if those type of friends still exist you need to cut them off.
Buying them gifts, inviting them to your Christmas gathering will only cost you more for nothing.
If it’s habit of yours buying for the same people every year without being in touch for over a year?It’s high time to cut them off.
10. Compare Shops
Before buying you should try and get a quote from different shopping malls and know their prices.
I bought my pair of jeans at $34 in one shop and I got it at $23 in another shop, a whole $10 I could have saved.
Compare prices with biggest retails you know and then make your purchase.
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