The Guide to a Budget Holiday

"Help! I can only afford to give people empty boxes with an “I O U” note at the bottom for Christmas this year!"

This may be you. Especially if you are on such a tight budget that you only have enough money for a little food after bills. The first year that my parents were married, they were only able to give each other Christmas cards. That was truly living within their means that year. You may feel like you are in the same boat, but chances are, if you work your budget right, you really can afford to give something special to the ones you love this year.

Here’s how.

Stop nickel and diming!

I’m going to do it, why don’t you join me?

Do you eat out a lot? Buy from vending machines? Pickup a beverage at a gas station every time you gas up?

Let’s make up a scenario. Let’s say that you:

·         stop for coffee 5 days a week, and each one is $2. ($10)

·         Pick up two snacks a day, 5 days a week, from machines or convenience stores and spend $1 each (that’s another $2…amounting to $10 a week)

·         Grab lunch out at Subway or Wendy’s 3 days a week, spending $6 each time. (That’s $18!)

·         Go out to dinner or pickup takeout twice a week, spending at least $20. (That’s $40!)

Total you’ve spent $78 in a week!

IRL, it may be a little more or a little less depending on your habits.

Now suppose you go on Sunday afternoon to the grocery store and buy:

• Deli meat at $5
• A loaf of bread at $2
• A bag of apples at $5
• Pasta at $1
• Four cans of soup, totaling $5
• Pasta sauce at $2
• 2 Fresh salad kits at $3 each, amounting to $6
• A bag of frozen veggie medley at $2
• Two bags of chips or pretzels at $2 each, totaling $4
• A big bag of trail mix for $4
• Hamburger meat for $4
• Coffee grounds for $6
• A six pack of soda for $3 OR a gallon of iced tea for $3
• A gallon of milk for $4
• A box of cereal for $3
• Something to satisfy a sweet tooth for $2

In total, you’ve spent: $58.

This is based upon you living alone and eating a moderately balanced diet. If you only buy stuff like chips and frozen pizzas you might spend less. If you buy more vegetables instead of some of the carbs I listed, it could even out or be a few dollars more.

You have to take care to pack a lunch at work every day, and cook at home every night. You also would need to brew and bring your own coffee.

If you do that, you’ve saved $20 this week!

There are still nearly 4 weeks until Christmas. If you shop Christmas eve, though this is cutting it close, you will have saved between $60-$70 by then. From your own paycheck.

Just by not spending it on fast food fixes.

Do you nickel and dime in other ways?

• Do you frequently set out to buy one thing, and then add several smaller things by the time you get to the register? Yes, it’s great that with your purchase you can get a tote for only 99 cents. It’s wonderful that candy bars are 50% off today. Lip gloss is a good thing to have, but don’t you already have about 12 of them? You don’t need another yogurt just because they are 4/$5 today, unless they are a lot more without the 4^th one. If it’s just some odd fraction that doesn’t round easily, don’t worry about it. Go to the store with a hard-copied list in hand and stick to exactly what is on it. You don’t need candy or more bags. If you don’t deviate, you may save anywhere from $1 to $20 every time.
• Do you leave your heat or A/C on? This time of year, you probably leave the heat on. If you live in Florida like me, the highs are in the 60’s during the day. Turn it off when you go out. Only run it late at night and only on low. Bring the house to a comfy 68* while you sleep, but turn it off during the day and open a window. Your cat has a built-in sweater called a fur coat. He’s not going to freeze. Doing this could save you between $20 and $50 off your electric bill depending on the size of your house!
• Do you leave lights and fans on? A ceiling fan may cost you $3 a month to leave on 24/7. A light may cost a few dollars more unless it is an energy saver. Turn them all off except when you are in the room, and you may save $20.
• Do you leave a computer on? If you leave a desktop on, it can waste a large amount of energy in a month. It wastes even more if you have content downloading from the internet or it is running a game (like WOW) all night. Turn it off and save between $10-$50!
• Do you take long showers? As inconvenient as it may be, try shaving after the shower and look for other ways of shaving time off  and you could shave a few dollars off the water bill, just for making shower time half as long.
• Do you need all those channels? Try talking to your cable company about downgrading to a package with more basic cable OR if you own a game console that accesses the internet, you can cancel your cable to rely solely on the internet to bring you televised entertainment. Just download Hulu and Netflix. I have them, and each month I pay $24 total for both + $64 for high speed internet that is just the right rate for streaming content. That’s $88 total. The average internet and cable package can be between $100 and $200 a month!
• Do you go out every time you need something? Yeah it’s one thing to make an emergency run to the pharmacy because you’re sick and you need medicine in the middle of the night. But it is another thing to go to the grocery store, come home, go back out across town to shop for shoes, come home, go back out again to pick up dog food, come home…. You get the picture. If you have the means, try to make a circuit pattern for your errands. Map out where everything is that you need to do in the day, make lists so you don’t forget anything, and talk to friends about meeting you while you’re already out and at some place near where you’ll be. Going in a circuit, hitting the places farthest away first and coming back around closer to home last, not only saves on gas…it saves mileage and that means oil changes are less frequent.

These are of course just a few ways to save your hard earned paycheck. And the best part is, they don’t only apply to the Holidays. You can apply these rules year round, to maximize savings and to prepare for other special events! Just think, if you did this for a year, you could probably save enough green to take a real vacation or to purchase your dream wedding dress.

Now it’s time to take a load off.

• Do you have closets full of clothes that you don’t wear? If they are gently used brand names, you can google places like Hut No. 8 or Plato’s Closet for a location nearest you. If they are near you, make sure the clothes aren’t faded or torn, then wash and fold all the clothes that are appropriate for the season (at Christmas time, they want sweaters, jackets, jeans, colored denim, boots and nice bags) and take them in. These types of stores pay cash on the spot. Just be sure to verify what days and hours they do it so you don’t waste a trip, as we discussed above. If you have nice things and good brand names, you won’t get back what you paid but you will get at least 20%. If you filled a large bag with Abercrombie, Hollister, Guess and other names like that, you may earn between $50 and $100! If you fill it with Old Navy, Forever XXI, Xhilaration (Target) and Charlotte Russe, you may make between $20 and $40.
• There is no shame in pawning or selling your stuff online! Take an inventory of possessions like music equipment, blu ray DVD’s, extra iPods and digital cameras and gold jewelry that isn't keepsake. If they are not needed give the pawn shop a chance. You can also try Ebay, which is a good means for selling things that pawn shops and Plato’s don’t take, but it can take a few weeks to receive your money. 
• Have a yard sale. People are looking for gifts right now, maybe some of those brand name gently-used items that you don’t need are exactly what they were looking for.

Okay, between cutting unnecessary costs and selling a few things around the house, you should be pocketing anywhere from $100 to $500. It looks like the gift-giving will commence after all! But what if you couldn’t cut many costs and you didn’t own much that was worth cash? Don’t fret, I have one more trick up my sleeve.

• Try couponing. It isn’t just for saving on groceries anymore. Sign up for email notifications or texts from your favorite stores to shop in for gifts at the holidays. They may surprise you. What do Michael's Crafts, JC Penney, Belk, Bealls, Best Buy, Kohls, Old Navy, Bed Bath and Beyond and Bath and Bodyworks have in common? They often have regular coupons and discount offers for those who sign up for email or who diligently sort their mail! Check your inbox!
• Always verify stacking rules. Grocery stores will often let you get a sale item with one of their coupons stacked over a manufacturer coupon. This rule can apply in other types of stores as well.  Especially around the holidays, some stores will have store-wide mark downs to price points (not the be confused with clearances). If you had a coupon in hand for $10 off of a purchase of $30 or more, you could walk away with two or three of an item for the price of one. Store employees usually point out specials, but sometimes rules about special ways to double up aren't always supposed to be broadcast unless you ask them directly. 
• Make your own. If you can’t afford the department store necklace your mom pointed out, but you have a good hand with jewelry tools, try and make her one with items from the craft store. Make sure you print out that inbox coupon first. You can use all sorts of kits at craft stores to make such things as: shirts and bags with a custom photo on them, embellished clothing, hand-kitted scarves, decorated flip-flops, Christmas ornaments, wall hangings, scrap books, photo albums, jewelry, fancy cookies and more. If you have a talent with a camera or a brush, just photograph or paint something beautiful you saw and frame it.
• Buy generic. It’s also not just for food. Some things are drastically poorer quality when they aren’t a brand name, but some things aren’t. If your grandma wanted a pair of soft, fuzzy slippers there is no reason to go to a department store and spend $50 on a brand name. Big Lots has extremely soft and comfy slippers for $10. Once you take an item out of a box, there is no reason they need to know where it came from, as long as you can tell it is of decent quality. A little forewarning though: If you are gifting someone a nice electronic device like an Mp3 player, I don’t recommend generic. If they have special needs like support for their feet in certain shoes, it may be wise to verify that the generic brand also offers this. When it comes to beauty products, make sure the person doesn’t have allergies. Generic isn’t generally going to be as gentle or natural as the real thing. If the real item is $100 and the generic is $10, you should always ask yourself why first. 
• Used items can be an option. ONLY if they are clean, well taken care of and still in good shape. Sometimes, a gift of an item that you loved for awhile is more heartwarming than something straight off the shelf. This can be okay with some electronics, décor, baby gear, toys, clothes and accessories. I don’t ever recommend giving used beauty products, food items, shoes or undergarments (come on that’s just common sense), or anything that is clearly obsolete or clearly defective with damage or parts that don’t work properly. If you wouldn’t use it or accept it used, why should they? 

I hope this guide will help rescue your budget Holiday Season! 

As they say on the Hunger Games, “may the odds be ever in your favor”. God Bless you for your dedication to making sure Christmas is wonderful for your family.