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How to Save Money with Great Gift Ideas

by: Ispas Marin

Want to save $1000 this year for very little effort? Gift giving is an area where impulse buying is a frequent occurrence. I was amazed to discover I was spending over $1500 or more per year for gifts. What have you spent for gifts in the last 12 months?

In my experience, gifts were last minute purchases for which money was no object. I now spend less than $500 per year for gifts. Take two hours of your life and save yourself $1000 or more per year on gift giving.

Get Prepared

Label 12 manila folders January - December. On the front of each monthly folder, write the days of the month. Next to the appropriate date on the folder, write in the occasion for which a gift and/or a card will need to be purchased. Then, write the amount of money you will spend on that gift. Inevitably, a wedding or birthday will come up that you didn't know about, so be sure you leave a little money left for these unexpected occasions.

The key is, don't exceed what you budgeted for each gift. For example, for Mother's Day, I will write $15 next to the holiday. I only allocate $400 for the known holidays and set aside $100 for the unexpected gifts such as a wedding or birth of a child. You may find that you are unable to budget $500 a year for gift giving. Just determine what you can afford and STICK WITH IT. Don't deviate from your budget.

Advance Planning

There are very real benefits to planning your gift-giving in advance. And, with a little creativity, you can bring your overall cost down substantially. Because you're prepared, you can actually enjoy the holidays. You won't feel financially strapped since you've budgeted for the gifts in advance. Since you've anticipated the gift-giving occasion, you will undoubtedly find the gifts on sale. It goes without saying, but the ideas is, NEVER PAY RETAIL - EVER!

Frugal Gift Ideas

Buy gift-wrap and greeting cards on sale, or better yet, make them yourself.

Shop for gifts all year long to get the best price. This may mean you could be buying Christmas cards in January.

Plant an herb garden for a friend. And, while you're at it, make one for yourself too.

Treat your partner/spouse to a homemade spa. Give him/her a gift certificate announcing a full one-hour body massage and facial. This gift is easily worth over $75!

Organize personal negatives and photographs for a friend or family member. Create a scrapbook, photo books, or even Photo CDs.

Make some creative hand puppets for a child if you have mismatched socks and buttons lying around your home.

Create a care package for a friend who recently got a new job. In a box or basket put some instant coffee, tea bags, aspirin, bandages, travel size toothpaste and toothbrush, along with a coffee cup.

If the friend is a female, add some trial size products such as perfume and hair spray. If you want to increase the value of the gift, give a portable umbrella.

Design a similar package for a recent high-school graduate student who will be entering college. You may want to even provide a $5 phone card instead of an umbrella.

Buy movie tickets... a gift where one size fits all. When movie tickets are purchased in advance from movie theatres, you can usually get them at half price!

Offer to make dinner for your friends if you're a good cook.

Give a single friend or elderly family member freshly frozen dinners for a week.

Mail out holiday cards for an elderly family member. if you're computer literate, put their address book into a database so the information can easily be updated.

Make a year's worth of greeting cards and personalized stationery for someone if you're a bit crafty.

Make enough birthday cards, anniversary cards, and blank cards for a year's worth of holidays. The thoughtfulness will go a long way throughout the year.

Help someone else get organized. If the person you need to give a gift to is an entrepreneur or extremely disorganized, make a filing system for the upcoming tax year.

Purchase gift-with-purchase cosmetic/perfume specials and split the gifts. Usually the gift is nicely wrapped, generic, and valuable enough to give away for an upcoming gift in your tickler file.

Getting Organized

In a drawer or closet, place the gift giving manila files, the greeting cards, gift-wrap and purchased gifts in chronological order. This is now your tickler file and shopping list to remind you what holiday is coming up.

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More Article Pages 1 - 2

Holiday Planning Tips For Busy Moms
by: Aurelia M. Williams

Ahhh, the Holidays�� The Thanksgiving turkey comes out of the oven golden brown, with an enticing aroma that fills the entire house. All the china is in pristine condition and not a single piece in the set is missing. The family is gathered for holiday pictures, the children are poised perfectly; hands to themselves, not a hair out of place and their smiles are shining brightly for the camera. Then just as the photographer is about to capture the shot� you wake up!

Let's be realistic ladies. Without proper planning, the holidays are anything but a holiday. Just look at the list of things that need to be done: Shopping, cooking, cleaning, decorating, sending holiday mail, the list goes on and on.

Let me clue you all in on a few key questions that you should ask yourself in order to have a holiday season free of stress and worry, and instead filled with fun and laughter:

What types of holiday celebrations do you want? For example: Do you want to have an immediate family only holiday affair or an extravaganza including immediate and extended family plus a few friends? Once you've thought everything through and decided on the type of holiday gathering you would like, you can then start making your plans.

If you are ready to get a head start on organizing yourself, your family and your holiday check lists, then keep reading:

Holiday Cards: Start early! I use a holiday card list that I derive from saving names and addresses from holiday cards my family has received in past years. I created a simple, computerized list that is easy to edit and print onto address labels. Be sure to stock up on stamps so that when you have your cards signed, stuffed and addressed you can affix a stamp to them and make one, simple trip to the Post Office.

Holiday Gifts: There's nothing like getting a HUGE credit card bill in the mail at the start of the New Year. Many of us tend to want to be generous when shopping for holiday gifts. While your generosity will be appreciated at gift giving time, keep in mind that it is very easy to succumb to "impulse buying" and go all out on your holiday shopping. While your intentions may be good, your pocketbook may be singing a different song. Set a budget and stick to it � your bank account will thank you for it after the start of the New Year.

Wrap it up: Wrap your gifts and place nametags on them immediately after you bring them home, then store the gifts in a secure spot. This will cut down on those late night wrapping sessions that I am sure we ALL have experienced a few times, if not every year.

Baking & cooking: If you will be cooking during the holidays, it is important to plan your meals ahead of time. Be sure to stock up ahead of time on all the necessary non-perishable baking ingredients such as flour, sugar and spices. Create a list of your holiday menus and a list of the ingredients you will need to prepare each of those meals. Also, try to think of a few dishes that can be prepared ahead of time and then frozen as an extra timesaving measure

Delegate: This is one of my favorite tips. Be sure to enlist the help of your family or friends. Sit down and discuss what needs to be done then ask for volunteers. If no hands are raised, simply assign small tasks to each of them. Whether it is arranging for a babysitter so that you can escape for a child free day of shopping, passing the shopping list onto another family member or friend so that they can pick up the items for you, or letting the children decorate your home. Be sure to get the whole family involved in the holiday preparations so that you will not be overwhelmed.

Enjoy: Whatever you decide to do, remember to relax and enjoy yourself. You and your family will have much fonder memories of this holiday season if you are not spending it pulling your hair out.

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