Christmas Shopping on a Budget

1) Make a list: Start making a list of who all you need to buy Christmas presents for. Keep your list handy, along with ideas of what to buy for each person. When necessary, also include sizes on your list so you can be sure to buy things that will fit.

2) Set a budget: Instead of setting a budget for how much you can spend total, set a budget per person. Then do your best to beat the budget. Think of it as a game. Rather than trying to spend the budgeted amount, instead try to see how much you can save. Perhaps, if you like, total both amounts up to compare your total budgeted amount to the total amount you spent on everyone, and see how much you end up saving overall. It’s amazing how fast the savings can add up!

3) Buy year round: Don’t wait until the last minute to minute and get caught in the holiday rush. Instead, shop year round. This gives you a chance to keep an eye out for sales on the items you really want to get. That way you are less likely to end up paying full price on high dollar items.

4) Buy clothing items off-season: Adults often don’t change sizes (other than normal weight fluctuations throughout the year), so it is easy to buy off-season clothes throughout the year. Buying off-season allows you to get the items on clearance and hold on to it until Christmas. This can also work with children buy estimating what size they will need. While there is a chance that the clothes might not fit during the right season, there is an even greater chance that it will fit.

5) Take advantage of clearance prices: Clearance racks are a great place to shop for everything from clothes and toys to household items and electronic. Not only can you find great presents on these racks, you can also end up saving a lot of money.