Save money for Christmas without changing your budget! Simple tricks to start a savings to use for gifts at the end of the year
You all might think I’ve lost my mind but I am already thinking ahead to Christmas! With a large family and four kids, I have to plan ahead to make sure that our budget is on track.
We pay cash for Christmas each year and will not put anything on a credit card – but that means that we need to save money throughout the year so that we have the cash available.
Now, we don’t go crazy on Christmas gifts. In fact, I much prefer to keep it simple and would rather gift my children with time and experiences than fancy gifts. We like to keep Christmas sort of old fashioned and traditional but that doesn’t mean that expenses don’t add up.
We try to stick to a four gift rule with the children – but we have four children to shop for. We also buy for our niece and nephews, parents and grandparents, and I feel it very important to share the love with neighbors during the holiday season. Aside from gifts, other expensive include decorations (we like to make them!), baking, and Christmas dinner.
Our budget changes from year to year but one thing remains the same – I plan ahead, shop smart, and save money for christmas without even trying! In fact, I don’t even use our paychecks to do it! All of the money saved comes from outside sources and are not paycheck related.
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4 Ways to Save Money for Christmas without using your Paycheck
Use the ibotta app for your phone
If you are not using ibotta then I highly recommend that you JOIN NOW! I have earned $50 cash back this month alone on products I already buy.
ibotta is like a coupon app except you accumulate the cash equivalent of those coupons into your account. You can then transfer the money to your paypal account or cash out in gift cards to major retail stores.
When shopping online, always use eBates
eBates is another cash back option. You earn a percentage of your online purchases when you shop through their browser. If you are like me then you are already shopping online – I use Amazon Prime for just about everything and I even order groceries online when I’m in a time crunch!
You can check out the eBates program and JOINE HERE.
Walmart Savings Catcher
This is a no-brainer. Download the Walmart Savings Catcher onto your phone. Every time you shop you scan and submit your reciept. If they find something that is a lesser price somewhere else they will add the difference to your account!
Save Your Change
If you are already using the super popular cash system for you family budget then this one will be super easy too! Just save up your change. We keep a large jar on the kitchen counter and after each purchase we put the change into the jar. You might be amazed at the HUNDREDS of dollars you can save in pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters! The only downfall to this one is cashing in all of that change at the end of the year.
Do you have any other tips for saving up for Christmas?
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