If you are like most people, you WAY UNDERESTIMATE how much the gifts on your holiday list will cost. Here are some tried-and-true ways to make sure you don't spend too much on gifts.
The biggest mistake you can make when going holiday shopping is not having a plan for what you want to buy and how much you want to spend. That usually means you spend twice as much, which makes you grumpy after the holiday when you have to pay your bills or don't have enough money.
1: Decide how much you can spend on gifts in total. Hopefully, you've already saved some money for this and won't have to use credit cards that you can't pay off right away. Add some money to the budget to pay for wrapping gifts, sales tax, and shipping gifts to people who live out of town.
2: Make a list of everyone whose gift you need to buy. If you have a big family, draw names so you don't have to buy gifts for everyone. This way, your budget goes further and you can get nicer gifts for fewer people. Don't forget to get something for the teachers of your kids, your hairdresser, and the mailman if you usually do.
3: Write the amount you want to spend on each person next to their name. Add these up and make changes so you don't spend MORE than your plan says you should.
4: Make a list of gift ideas for each person that can be bought within the gift limit. Make a list of stores where you can buy that thing in a lot of different styles and at good prices. The more ideas you have for each person, the more likely it is that you can find a great gift that doesn't cost too much.
5: Plan your shopping trips so that you only go to the places on the list, and do your shopping early so you have the best choice. Even if you don't usually read the newspaper, you should at least get the Sunday editions starting the week before Thanksgiving. So, you can find out about sales at the stores you want to shop at, get great discount coupons, and get ideas for gifts for people who are hard to buy for.
6: If you want to send a gift to someone far away, think about giving them a gift certificate so they can choose what they really want. Gift certificates to a restaurant are great for women who will be tired of cooking over the holidays and would really enjoy a meal where someone else bought, cooked, and cleaned up.
7: When you find a gift and decide to buy it, mark that person as DONE so you won't be tempted to buy more.
8: Buy gifts for the person. No matter how cheap it was, a well-thought-out gift that the person will really use is better than something with a designer name that they wouldn't wear or use.
Ideas for Gifts with Style
Include the box or other container in the gift. Don't wrap your gifts. Instead, look for unique containers that can be part of the gift and can be used again later. If you buy someone a scarf and something else, wrap the other item in the scarf and tie it with a bow.
For about $11, you can give a single guy who never cooks a gift of home-baked cookies in a nice container. This is a great gift for a guy who doesn't cook because he's single.
Giving someone a book or a gift certificate to a book store? Find a unique container and add something to enjoy with the book, like a variety of teas and organic chocolates. This is a nice gift for about $35.
For less than $30, you can get a box with a pound of organic coffee, a bar of organic chocolate, and a great music CD.
