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SAVE MONEY ON GIFTS ALL YEAR ROUND!
If you’re on a tight budget, gift-giving can get costly especially around the holidays but even throughout the year.
So what are some ways you can save money on your gift-giving? Read on for some tips and a cool free printable just for you!
SET A HOLIDAY BUDGET & PLAN
This one is probably the most important tip!
If you procrastinate and don’t budget and plan for gifts then you’ll end up spending money from other areas of your budget to buy gifts.
Do you need help to create a monthly budget? Check out my article on How to Create an Effective Budget.
You’ll miss out on sales and may end up buying gifts that have no thought to them. You could also forget some gifts (how embarrassing would that be).
You should get into the practice of planning out who you need to get gifts for, how much you have to spend on each gift and brainstorm some gift ideas for each person.
For example, what are they into? Sports? Collectables? Books? Write these down so when you come across the perfect gift you can grab it.
It’s never to early to start planning your gift-giving. It’s actually beneficial to start in January so you can budget money each month towards gifts.
You can grab a piece of paper or use a printable gift planner, like the one pictured below, for this.
You can get it here (it’s free!).
A planner is also a great place to make notes on your family and friends’ interests. This will ensure your gifts are well received and thoughtful.
SHOP THROUGHOUT THE YEAR FOR GIFTS
By budgeting and planning all year long, you’re able to shop when there are deals or when you see something special throughout the year.
After holiday clearances and even seasonal clearances are great times to shop for gifts.
I shop for wrapping paper and gift bags each year after the holidays and save 75-90% this way.
Just be sure to make notes on what you bought and what you spent in your planner.
Also, have an area in your home to keep your gifts and supplies until its time to give them. If you have the room designate a portion of a closet as a gift closet so you always know where to put your gifts and gift supplies.
There’s nothing worse than knowing you bought a gift for someone last month but aren’t sure where it is and have to buy a new one (speaking from experience).
DIY YOUR GIFTS
Gift baskets are popular but can also be very expensive if you buy them premade. Plus you don’t usually get to customize them exactly how you want them.
Making cute gift baskets is one of my favorite ways to not only personalize a gift but also save a ton of money.
Dollar Tree is great for this especially for their gift bags, baskets, and tins as well as fillers for your baskets.
Below are a few examples of gift baskets you can create for around $15.
On a tighter budget? Create these cute gifts for under $6! I love this idea for teachers’ gifts as well as friend gifts.
Did you know you can order all you need at Dollar Tree online? Yup! Check out their selection here.
SET A GIFT AMOUNT
This ties into the budget and planning section but what I mean here is to set a gift amount for people whom you usually swap gifts with each year.
Agreeing on a gift amount that works for both people will eliminate worrying that you’re not spending enough on them or that they may spend too much on you.
If your buying for children you can just give yourself a limit or if you have kids as well you can plan with the other parents to set a gift amount for each kid or buy a family gift the whole family can enjoy.
DO YANKEE SWAP OR SECRET SANTA GIFTS
Yankee Swap and Secret Santa games are very popular. If you aren’t familiar with them you basically get a group of people together and each person only buys one gift.
In Secret Santa, everyone participating is randomly assigned a person to whom they will buy a gift.
The identity of the gift giver is to remain a secret and should not be revealed.
In Yankee Swap, each participant brings a wrapped, unmarked gift. Everyone picks a number out of a hat, and they select and unwrap gifts from the pile in that order — with a twist.
The person who got the number 1 gets to trade their gift with any of the other gifts or keep it. Everyone else has to keep the one they picked.
These and other various formations of gift games are popping up all over so you’re sure to find a fun one your family and friends will enjoy.
These gift games are a great way to save money. Rather than buy for ten people you will only be buying for one. Plus they save you time by not having to pick out ten gifts (definitely a win for everyone).
USE CASHBACK APPS
If you aren’t using a cashback app then you’re missing out on free money! Cashback apps are not only for shopping online anymore but can be used in-store as well.
Some of my favorite apps are:
- DOSH (read my Dosh App review)
- Rakuten (read my Rakuten review)
- Ibotta (read my Ibotta tips here)
- Shopkick
I recommend signing up for all four to save the most amount of money because they all work a little differently and one may have a better cashback deal on the item you are shopping for at any given time.
Plus you may be able to double-dip on the savings in certain circumstances!
Did these tips help you? What are some of your favorite ways to save money on gifts? Share your tips below in the comments I love hearing from you!
