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I work part-time, so I can’t afford to give expensive holiday gifts.
To keep from overspending, I decided on a budget upfront with my family and friends.
I also keep homemade gifts in mind, and I’ve found they go over well.
If you’re like me, you don’t have enough money to buy your mom fancy jewelry for Christmas. You may be surprised to learn that there are actually many options for gifts that don’t require spending a ton of money. Here are a few things I do to save money and show people that I care about them.
1. Set expectations with others
One thing I do to make my Christmas budget-friendly is set expectations with family and friends.
My family sets a budget of around $100. If we want something more expensive, that means we won’t get a lot of gifts. Doing this has helped us understand how to stay true to our budgets. It has also been a good way to make finance simple for my younger siblings.
I often have gift exchanges with my friends, and we set a reasonable per-gift budget upfront. That way I can get my friends a nice, simple little gift without spending a ton of extra money.
I’ve been to many gift exchanges and white elephant parties, and I know exactly how annoying it is to spend a lot of money on your gift and get something someone else found at a dollar store. I once brought a nice gift … and brought home a can of Spam. If we had set expectations better as a group, things might have gone differently.
2. Decide on a budget before the holidays
Making a budget is similar to setting expectations, but for yourself. Setting a budget is something I use to make sure I’m not overspending on gifts. I like to set aside between $5 and $10 for each person. It’s really a great way to organize your money for gifts without breaking the bank. After all that’s what a budget is all about — making sure you’re organized.
When I really want to give my friends and family nice gifts, I use a sinking fund. A sinking fund is when you set aside a small amount of money every month in a savings account. If I set aside $20 every month, by the time Christmas comes around, I’ll have $240 to spend on gifts.
3. Give my time and energy
One of the best alternative options to spending money is making homemade gifts. I’ve found that a lot of people appreciate handmade things, because you put so much time and energy into them. For birthdays or holidays, sometimes I like to draw something for my friends or family members. It’s something that I love to do, and it’s free! It’s also more personal than giving them something I’ve bought.
If I end up not having enough money to buy gifts, there are plenty of other ways to make Christmas meaningful for the people I love.