Reduce

Do you really need to spend so much on those you love every single year? Would they still love you if you spent less? This is an option many of us don’t want to consider, but we should! People before stuff, and certainly before money. On your death bed will you be remembering the thing others bought you, or will you remembering times you had with them? Maybe rather than gifts this year you can make your gift to your loved ones an event instead? A party maybe? Or put together a secret santa group so that everyone is only buying for one person! Another option to help sale money this holiday season is to not turn on those lights, many people go all out with lights for the holidays and while they are beautiful, they also bring in a costly electric bill. Maybe get a timer for them so they are only on 4 hours a night?

     Re-use

Do you have those gifts that never got used from years past? It is time to find those items homes. You do not need them, not personally or emotionally. Re-gifting gets a bad name though so if you can’t bring yourself to do it, sell it, and use that money to buy something special for your someone special. Another great tip requires thinking ahead, each year we spend money on wrapping paper that gets trashed or hopefully recycled. A better idea is to make gift bags out of cloth to be used year after year. You can use clothing that is too small or old sheets that you can dye and yarn pull ties to close them making them reusable year after year. I have not yet done this myself but I have gotten a few gifts in cloth bags and I always love them.

       Reevaluate

One of the biggest issues during the holidays is debt, don’t do it!  You need to reevaluate what is important to you. One of the best gifts you could give yourself is perhaps a course on finances. A quick tip though is that if you must get into debt for the holidays, make it secure debt as it should at least come with a better interest rate! If you are looking at unsecured loans look for one with a low interest rate and consider also using it to pay off high interest credit cards too. Another issue some people have is with brand insanity as I call it, they refuse to shop discount stores because of the stigma that those stores are some how for lesser people. It isn’t the case. If you need to save money, then you need to shop in places you can afford. Remember the reason for the season, what ever believe, I am sure the reason is not shop till you drop from a heart attack over holiday debt. Take care of yourself, it is one of the best gifts you can give to those who love you.

My goal this year, like years past, is to save as much as I can and focus on what matters. People and Relationships, these are priceless.