holidays — Beating Broke

How I Plan to Have a Low-Cost Christmas

November 29, 2016 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

Every year, more Christmas expenses seem to crop up than I have budgeted for. Typically, our budget can handle the extra strain, but this year is different. This year, our central air conditioner unit needed to be replaced, and we’re on a mission to pay off the loan as soon as possible. That means this Christmas I have to be smarter with my spending, and I have to spend less than I usually do.

I have a plan to reduce my Christmas expenses without skimping on my kids’ gifts, but to be successful, I have already started my holiday shopping even though Christmas is months away. Here’s my plan:

Take advantage of coupons. I am on several e-mail lists for different stores. This weekend, Michael’s sent out a coupon for 70% off one regular price item. I will be going to Michael’s and using this coupon to purchase a Christmas gift that I’ll tuck away. Any time from now until Christmas that I see high value coupons, I’ll take advantage of them to buy a Christmas present at a fraction of the cost.

I’m making some gifts. Last year, when fleece was on clearance after Christmas, I bought some to make blankets for each of my kids. I have made one blanket, and I’ll be making two more in the next few weeks. These will be one of their presents. I also plan to make some doll accessories for my daughters with fabric I already have in the closet.

I’m saving credit card rewards. Starting in August, I let my credit card rewards accrue. Right now, I have enough for $50 cash. By the end of next month, I will have enough for $100 cash. By Christmas, I hope to have $150 cash. I’ll save that money and use it in December, especially close to Christmas when retailers discount products that they’d like to sell for the holiday.

Entering giveaways. When I have time, I’m entering giveaways for prizes my kids would like for Christmas. I’m not really banking on this strategy, but if I do win, that helps me round out my Christmas stash. Last year I won a game for one of my children, and a craft set for another.

Using Swagbucks. If you are a member of Swagbucks and you sign up for all of the different programs and offers, you can accumulate Swagbucks quickly. However, I just use Swagbucks for Internet searches and answering the daily poll and getting secret codes, so I earn a bit more slowly. Still, I expect to have enough Swagbucks to redeem for $50 in Amazon gift cards by Christmas.

If you plan to use this strategy, you’ll need to strategize because you can only get one gift card per month. You’ll have to plan ahead and cash out month-by-month so you’ll be able to access your points.

What strategies do you use to save money on holiday gifts? Do you also start buying Christmas presents in the fall to save money?

How to Handle Someone Who Gives Too Many Gifts

January 5, 2015 By MelissaB 8 Comments

First world problems, right? How can you complain about someone who gives too many gifts?

Believe it or not, that’s something I’ve struggled with this holiday season. I have one relative who, simply put, is buying too many gifts for me, my husband and my kids.

If this relative was independently wealthy, that would be one thing, but I know that she’s also trying to save money for some home repairs and a trip of a lifetime to Europe. I wish she would buy each of us just one gift and put the rest of the money in her vacation fund.

Do you also have problems with someone in your life who buys too many presents?

If so, there are things you can do. (Though you’ll probably want to implement most of these suggestions AFTER this holiday season.)

Set a gift giving limit. Most people buy gifts because they want to be nice, and they want to do something special for you. However, people can overstep their bounds. This year between all of my relatives who like to give gifts to our kids, the kids are getting more than enough presents. Combined with the gifts my husband and I were going to give, my kids were going to have way too many gifts.

I set aside some of the gifts I was going to give; I’ll use them next year. I also had my mom set aside some of her gifts for birthdays. I’ve also asked some of the relatives to set a limit of one or two gifts in future years so that our children are not drowning in presents.

Accept and be appreciative. Another idea is to simply accept the many gifts and be appreciative. After all, as Trent Hamm, guest blogger on The Christian Science Monitor, points out, “These gifts are given out of love.” Hamm, who struggles with his family members giving his kids too many gifts, explains, “People give our kids gifts because they love them so much and it’s their way of expressing it. For me, telling them not to do so is akin to saying, ‘Please don’t express your love and caring for our children.’”

If someone like a grandparent routinely goes overboard with the gift giving, you can reduce the number of presents that you get your kids and save money. You can just reap the benefits of saving money, or you can take the cash that you saved by not buying so many gifts and instead give the cash as a present to the prodigious gift giver. Everything comes full circle this way.

Direct the gift giver’s generosity. I remember when I was little, my mom’s friend wanted to get me a Christmas present. I was a prolific reader, and she got me Green Eggs and Ham. I was well beyond that book. Too often, people try to be generous by giving a present, but the gift they give is not necessarily what the recipient needs or wants.

You can direct the gift giver’s generosity by steering her to a wish list. You could create it on Amazon, and then you would be able to keep track of what has been bought, and you could also have some say in the plethora of presents coming into your house.

Do you struggle with well-meaning relatives buying too many gifts? If so, how do you handle the situation?

Yearly Bonus on the Way

December 12, 2008 By Shane Ede 1 Comment

Yay! The yearly performance bonus that my company gives out is coming on Monday!

The bonus is based on a set of goals for the company. If the company reaches all of the goals, then we get 100% of the bonus. Each goal is set a little differently, so one might only count for 10% and another for 50%. In any case, we got the whole 100% of the bonus. The whole bonus means that I’ll be getting my regular paycheck on Monday along with the bonus check for 100 hours. It’ll be a tish more than what my regular check is. Basically, an extra paycheck this month.

My wife and I have been debating what to do with the money. Of course, due to the timing of the bonus, the idea of being a little more generous during the holiday season always comes up, but we’ve luckily talked most of our family and friends into spending limits so that’s out. Most likely (we haven’t decided entirely) we’ll use most of the bonus for paying off debt. We’ve got one credit card that would almost be taken care of by the bonus, so it’ll be getting a check soon too. I think we’ll save a bit of it aside for some home improvements that we’ve got planned as well.

What about you? Did you get your bonus this year or did the economy ruin it for you? If you did get it, how do you plan on using it? Or, how does the lack of your bonus affect your budget?