Don’t Break Your Budget for Christmas Gifts
photo credit: krisdecurtis
With Christmas rapidly approaching, many people might be getting worried about how they’ll let their finances stretch to buying the expected Christmas presents this year. Don’t blow the credit card balance on gifts; instead consider these tips on budget Christmas presents:
- Agreee amongst your family that either you won’t buy gifts for each other this year, or everyone will only buy one gift - draw names out of a hat so that everyone is randomly allocated the person they should buy a gift for. Make sure you agree on a price limit (and not too high, or it defeats the purpose).
- Speaking of price limits, if your family or close friends all still want to buy gifts, think about agreeing on a maximum amount they should spend - this is especially useful if income levels differ widely amongst the group, so those with lower incomes don’t feel they have to spend a lot to “keep up” with the others.
- Consider making home-made gifts - if you have a crafty talent, create personalized gifts, or even just do some baking. There are very few people who don’t appreciate some home-made cookies, especially if you wrap them nicely and make it look personal. Not only is it cheaper than buying ready-made cookies or cakes, it also shows that you put some time and effort into the gift.
- In large families, decide on an age limit for gifts - for example, only children under 16 will receive gifts this year. Many families consider that being together at Christmas time is much more important than receiving gifts, and the real joy of the season is really in watching the younger children enjoy it.
This entry was posted on Monday, December 8th, 2008 at 4:58 am and is filed under Saving Money. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
