As of today, you have 90 days until Christmas.
I'll wait while you scream with panic.
You done? 'kay......
In keeping with our new cash-only life, we have dedicated ourselves to getting through Christmas without swiping the credit card once. This is a huge change for us. Typically we end up charging about $2000-$3000 in Christmas gifts, with the thought that our tax return will pay for the gifts. But then Murphy always paid us a visit and we ended up using the tax return to pay for other things.
With that in mind, we have been splitting our extra cash between paying off our relatively small balance on the credit card and my minivan and socking away money for Christmas. If things go according to plan, we should have enough money for a completely Cash Christmas. Dave Ramsay may not approve, but I consider having a Cash Christmas just as much a part of our Debt Snowball as sending a check to the credit card company! No matter what, we still have gifts to buy in the next 90 days....if we don't pay cash for them, we will put them on the credit card!
And now it is time to figure out how to reduce those costs:
1. Set a budget for each person and STICK TO IT: this is going to be one of the hardest things for us to do. Every year we try to do this but end up spending quite a bit more than we planned (especially when it comes to buying gifts for our parents). This year we have given ourselves only $5 "wiggle room" per family member.
2. Shop at craft fairs. I have a table at 3 different fairs this year (down from my normal 6 fairs). Not only do I plan to sell my tail off in order to increase our Christmas fund, I will also be on the lookout for unique gifts for much less than I can get at Nordstroms, etc. By the same token, I'll also be scouring Etsy for some unique gifts (and helping to support fellow crafters in the process)
3. Shop online: I hopped on this bandwagon late, but I am now a huge fan of shopping online. I've never been one of those people who can go out and get all their gifts in one day, so by the time that I make multiple trips to the stores, any shipping costs will be cancelled out by the price of the gas I would use going back & forth to the mall. Not only that, in many cases I end up saving another 6% by not having to pay sales tax.
4. Shop now: It's much easier to find an extra $40 in the budget one week for a gift than to try to buy everything at once and find an extra $2000. By spreading it out, we can relieve the strain on the budget.
5. Shop online through places like Ebates and Mr. Rebates. While these won't add up to thousands of dollars in savings, if I am buying clothes from Coldwater Creek I would rather get 4% back on my purchase by buying through Ebates and Mr. Rebates than nothing back by going straight to the company websites. You still get any advertised deals that are on the website...you just get a little back for them!
6. Remembering the immortal words of Dr. Seuss: "Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more". In the course of our conversion to frugalness, we have become much less materialistic. And while in one specific case, Christmas WILL come from a store (about 96 letters have already been written to Santa asking for Mario Kart DS), we are hoping to teach our children that Christmas is not just about a jolly fat guy and spending ginormous amounts of money. It's about Faith, family and friends. That is a lesson that took me 35 years to learn, so I'm hoping to start early with my children.
What plans have you made for Christmas or Holiday shopping?
Mandy
Hubby & I were just talking about this last night! I plan to crochet a lot of our gifts to cut down on cost. We never spend a ton of money on the kids anyway. We're hoping to not use the credit card this Christmas too.
Connie
I have been buying gifts for a couple months now and making my lists of things to do.
I blog about Christmas every month on the 25th and this keeps me on track!
Connies last blog post..Prayers Needed
Heidi
It's really not so hard to keep to a Christmas gift budget, so long as you MAKE a budget and then get a little creative. It sounds like you are going to be very successful!
Heidis last blog post..Worthy LInks
Darla
I cannot imagine you, of all people, spending 2-3k on Christmas. The most we have ever spent was $500 and that included travel $$. Granted, we only have one child.
We save all year long too, set aside $$ every two weeks. Dave would approve of a sinking-fund which is what Christmas is. He'll be the first to tell you Christmas comes the same time each year. 😉 You're doing great!
Darlas last blog post..I haz pumpkins, you haz time?
tiffanie
because i lost my job in march, and was out of work for 6 months (just went back to working part time minimum wage...i'm not happy about this adjustment)...we will be making homemade jam and baked goods and putting together "cookie in a jar" recipes and such. gift baskets for the family instead of more junk that will accumulate in their closets. gives hubby and i time to enjoy baking/canning together and our family gets to eat our yummy goodies! i'm also putting together some "pamper" baskets for the moms and sisters with stuff I've bought from Bath & Body Works over the year for really cheap 🙂 they won't even know the difference!
tiffanies last blog post..a reminder to tip the waiter?
DianeScraps
I have been working on Christmas for awhile
I have already gotten several gifts which have come from awesome clearance sales and MyPoints Gift cards. Total out of pocket $145 That includes 2 $30 gift cards, 1 game, 3 dolls, 1 Nintendo DS, 2 Reindeer Webkinz, clothes
The balance of my Chrismtas spending should be under $200 I am hoping less. Hubby wants the Iron Man DVD, and I see a few grocery store deals coming for that. Oldest DD wants a Wii Sims game and I have the KB Toys printable for that. Teacher gifts will be handmade this year, perhaps with some stockpile goodies to go with them.
DianeScrapss last blog post..K B Toys HOT Printable Coupnos Exp 9/28
Manisha
I bought my nieces and nephews their Christmas and birthday presents in January of this year when everything was cheap. I also scored some baby clothes knowing that I'd likely have people having babies this year. (I was right!) For 6 kids, plus some additional baby clothes, I spent $150.
My brothers and sisters and I don't exchange gifts because there are 6 of us, plus all are significantly othered in some way. It's just way too much money.
I got my mom an awesome pendant at a craft fair earlier this year, and that is her combined birthday and Christmas present.
So that leaves my boyfriend, my best friend, my dad, my stepdad, grandmom, and the folks that work for me. I'm hoping to do all of that for under $300.
It's definitely a cash Christmas for us this year. The dog's surgery is still far from being paid off, and with rising costs for food, gas, and utilities, I have much less disposable income to pay it as fast as I had intended.
By the way, Disney.com is an awesome site and has great discounts. If you don't mind the emails, they'll send you about 2-3 a week with special promo codes. They will probably start running some good deals coming soon. If you have kids (or some cartoon loving adults) on your list this year, you'll score some great deals. They do $5 shipping frequently.
Daisy
I think a lot of people will be adjusting their holiday spending. It helps to remember that what kids REALLY want is your time. Make memories. Use the holiday money to go places locally over the break. Give kids a sketch book and crayons or colored pencils to draw their escapades... If you have a video camera you can record the memories and then make a family movie at the end of the week (fun New Years Eve activity) let the kids pick the music etc. Sure - give everyone one token gift, but then just make memories. Keep it simple. My two cents...
Daisys last blog post..Polite Subtlety
Heather
We have gotten a bit lazy in these areas. Great post. I'll have to reevaluate our current habits and make a few adjustments. One thing that we are starting this year! I only buying each child 3 Christmas gifts (for the 3 gifts Christ received). It will control our spending , teach the children more about Christmas and they will end up with larger gifts rather than me buying a ton of cheap stuff that would really cost more.
Heathers last blog post..Great Buy!