What To Do When

You usually spend less on gifts if you don’t wait to the last minute when you feel pressured to quickly buy something, anything. One great idea is to be on the lookout for gifts all year around. If you see something that would make a good gift and it is on sale, pick it up and put it away until the right occasion. For example: a department store recently had Liz Claiborne wallets on clearance for $4.99. They were a stylish design in black or brown which made it a great gift that many women would like.

Plan ahead for holidays and set an overall spending limit.  Determine how much you can afford to spend each December on gifts and other holiday expenses. Divide that number by 52. Open a savings account and deposit that much each week. Come December you will be relieved that the money is waiting for you and the following January you will be glad that you didn’t get the charge card bills.

Talk to friends and relatives and set limits on gift spending. If you currently spend $30, suggest lowering it to a $15 limit, they will probably be relieved too. Another option would be to just give a card and a very small gift, such as the person’s favorite candy bar or a $5 Starbucks gift card. If you like to cook consider giving food gifts – caramel popcorn, homemade hot chocolate, cookies, lasagna, whatever you get compliments on.

If you spend a lot on cards, you could save money by making the cards yourself. There are several inexpensive software programs that you can use to make customized cards. Another option is to purchase a variety pack of cards, which usually works out to less than 50 cents a card. LTD Commodities (www.ltdcommodities.com) has a variety pack of 52 cards for $7.95 plus shipping – a great deal. Dollar Tree has cards 2 for $1. They also sell gift bags 2 for $1 and helium balloons for $1.