The Holiday season can be a very stressful time of year and with a pandemic in the mix, it can be a little much but holiday shopping for your loved ones shouldn’t have to be. Of course, we all have different situations in terms how how much we can spend and this year it may be a little bit harder for other than most years. As someone who comes from a big family and loves giving gifts to everyone, I have mastered how to stay on budget throughout the years and I wanted to share with you a few tips and tricks that I follow to make sure I am not breaking the bank EVER!
Who Are You Gifting to Every Year?
More than often you have almost always the same group for people you gift to every year, family and friends and of course a few extra people here and there. Starting by knowing how many people you would want to gift to will help you understand how much you need to save for after you do my next step.
Place Everyone in a Tier
Next create 3 (or more) tiers that have a dollar amount of how much you are wiling to spend on that person and begin to place everyone in your list in a tier. I for example have a $20 and below, $20-$30 and a $50 tier. Within these tiers here is everything you need to consider:
-The gift you are buying
-DIY material for whatever your plan to make and gift them
*I love a good diy and here are a few that won’t break the bank that I have written about in the past: 3 Easy DIY Gift Ideas, DIY Reindeer Beer, DIY Coffee Scrub, DIY Hair Masks, and a DIY Lip Scrub and Body Scrub!
-The wrapping paper, gift bag or card (if you buy this specifically for them)
-If you are doing an experience with them like grabbing a drink or dinner (in a safety manner- don’t spread germs)
Whichever tier you place them in make sure you add all these things up if you are doing more than one and see if you can keep them there or if they need to moved to another one tier. When doing this you will be able to see exactly how much you are wanting to spend on each person and tally up how much your total is so that you can save up for these expenses.
Reconsider Who You Are Gifting to Based on Your Budget
2020 has been a crazy year for all of us but some of us have taken a pay cut, lost their job or trying to budget for daily expenses. Having that said, in general but in particular this year people will understand if you can’t do gifts. Consider this especially if you are not seeing certain people and think about giving the gift of time instead, like doing a Zoom call together from the comfort of you home with your favorite drink as you catch up. I have a blog post I wrote last year about gifting the gift of an experience which you can read HERE and if you’re like me who doesn’t live in their hometown or have been like everyone else missing people in your life because of covid consider gifting your time digitally or safely if you can. The best gift I have always said I like to receive as well as to give is time and the memories that are made during that time.
Create a Gift Box
And last but certainly not least, my #1 tip that I give everyone that I have been doing for years that has helped me save sooooo much money is to create a gift box and add to it throughout the year. What do I mean by this? Grab a box or a bin and throughout the year begin to add gifts that you can give to the people on your list. I always tell everyone when you start doing this begin with looking through your home and see what you have that you have not used, things that might have been gifted to you that you also didn’t use or anything that is gently used that can be re gifts. Things that I tend to re gift that are gently used are books, (to my friends who are my size who I know don’t mind) my well taken cared of clothing or shoes, lotions or soaps that I overbought during a sale.
Throughout the year as I am looking for deals and purchasing things for loved ones I always tend to stick to a few staples unless I know there is something in particular I am looking for someone. Here are the items that I buy that are always great gifts: socks, candles, cards, But to this as I do everything else I only buy it if it is on super sale and I give myself a limit of $10 and under. If it is an item that is more, I really think about it and have to think if this is the best deal I can get.
I try really hard to stick to these tips and tricks that I have created for myself but like anyone else I sometimes bend the rules and have to adjust depending on the year and who I am seeing. I really hope these tips and tricks help you as you plan your holiday gifting for this season and many years to come.
Snapshots by Le’Annie
As always, thank you for reading. Como siempre, gracias por leer.
