For millions of Americans, the fun and festivity of the December holidays inevitably leads to the frustration of January and February, when the credit card payments for all those great presents come due. Luckily, there are ways to buy wonderful gifts for everyone on your list without busting your budget. All it takes is a little extra effort, a fair bit of creative thinking and some old-fashioned spending control.
Gini Kopecky Wallace is a senior editor at Family Circle Magazine where she edits pieces on money, psychology and numerous other topics. A big fan of gift-giving and bargain hunting, she offers these tips for buying holiday gifts without spending a fortune:
- Pre-shopping. If you’re shopping at the last minute or without a clear plan of what you want to buy, there will be the temptation to overspend just to get the shopping over with. This is why Kopecky Wallace always sits down and does her pre-shopping by thinking of options and making a careful list. Catalogues and online stores can help with ideas.
- Nontraditional places. Try avoiding the high-priced department stores and gift boutiques, and look for presents in non-traditional places. Thrift shops, hardware stores and craft fairs are great places to find unique low-cost gifts.
- Handmade gifts. If you’re into crafts or can draw or paint well, consider giving handmade gifts. If you can write a poem or a song, or create a photo album or scrapbook, these can make wonderful from-the-heart holiday presents.
- Manage your money. If you want to stick to a gift budget, keeping track of what you’ve spent is essential. Take a little notebook and write down what you spend after every purchase.
- The thought. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make people happy at the holidays. Putting some thought into an inexpensive but clever gift or caring enough to make something by hand is the best way to make people know you love or appreciate them during this special time of year.
For more help sticking to a holiday gift budget, check out the following organizations or websites:
Family Circle
www.familycircle.com/home/homepage.jsp
Federal Trade Commission: Holiday Shopping Tips
www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/holiday/
Principal Financial Group: Holiday Budget Worksheet
www.principal.com/planahead/fall2002/artcl2holidaywkst.htm
Essortment: Christmas Shopping Lists with a Budget
akak.essortment.com/christmasshoppi_rdpd.htm
Family Fun: Christmas on a Budget
familyfun.go.com/raisingkids/child/dev/expert/dony127faxmasbudget/dony127faxmasbudget.html
Christmas at Frugal Living
frugalliving.about.com/library/blChronsite.htm
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