Hey everyone! I am hoping you will take a few minutes out of your busy day to read this post. I appreciate it!
So tis’ the season. Tis’ the season for everything wonderful – family, fresh baked goods, beautiful decorations, presents, eating fabulous food til our pants physically hurt (wait, maybe that is just me?).
While it is a wonderful season, it is also the season of overspending, overbuying and debt. Over the next 6-8 weeks you will see many deals for the holidays on FTM. These deals are different than the freebies and grocery deals you normally see. I struggle with this, because my mission is to bring you good deals so you spend less money.
However, the reality is, most of us are going to buying this holiday season — and buying alot. So, for the next two months, I will be posting deals on toys, electronics and more. I don’t want these postings to lead to overspending, overbuying or debt. My goal is to help you.
I wish I could say don’t jump on a deal when you see it. It is just the opposite, if you see a deal that is on your list – you must jump on it, because they don’t last long.
To help you thru the season, I hope you will find some of these tips useful:
1. Make a list of who you want to buy for. You can print a template for the list here.
2. If you are buying high dollar items, research how much they cost and what a good deal is. Don’t take anyone elses word on it. Know the prices.
3. Keep close track of what you are spending, use a budget worksheet like the one here.
4. Don’t keep buying for people who you have already purchased for. If you mark them as done on your list on November 23, then they are done – don’t let deals sway you.
So, what tips can you give us to help keep our holiday budgets in check?
Sarah says
if you are interested in finding fun, pre-loved items, then little wants is a new website that lets you easily search the craigslist For-Sale section.
http://littlewants.com/
danna says
This tip is quite hard to follow:
“Don’t keep buying for people who you have already purchased for. If you mark them as done on your list on November 23, then they are done – don’t let deals sway you.”
The sooner the holidays are coming the better the deals for shoppers. I find it hard not to take advantage of the discounts even though I have enough gifts for everyone. The shop-a-holic in me most of the time wins.
Heidi says
Thanks for writing this post Shannon. My husband and I were just talking tonight at dinner what we’d be buying/spending on Christmas for the kids.
Sunbasilgarden says
I so appreciate this post!! Great reminder to keep it calm and not jump on every deal…yet don’t dilly dally. Awesome reminder. Thank you so much for all that you do :)
Janine says
I agree with you Sunbasilgarden…Shannon, thanks for your care and concern! It doesn’t go unnoticed
Jessica says
We try to decide ahead of time what we want to buy for each person on our list (it helps that in my husband’s family, we share a list of desired items and prices) or a maximum amount we will spend on each. Then if some things end up being less expensive, like photo gifts for grandparents which I look for deals on, great! We don’t then spend more on that person to add the total up to the max – it’s just a savings on the gift we were going to buy anyway.
Katie says
I do a lot of my christmas shopping on Craigslist. I just got my 4-year-old daughter a Little Mermaid dress-up outfit from the Disney Store for $10.00. It is used but in great condition. I also shop yard sales for items.
Ginny says
Shannon – Don’t feel guilty about posting the toy deals. Yes, I followed your site like crazy last holiday season as I was preparing for the first Christmas as a stay at home mom – which thanks in part to your site December 3rd marks my first year anniversary. I agree I probably overspent as we didn’t have a set in stone budget! BUT we didn’t go into debt and we didn’t have to tighten our belts for a few months after the holidays AND my kids had a lot of cool things under the Christmas tree. I never would have been able to get half of those things had I not been following your site. This year our budget is tighter as we experienced a job loss and had no income for a bit. Thank goodness my hubs was only out of work a month. I really believe my kids will have a good Christmas this year too even with the setbacks. Plus it helps that I shopped during the year so I have some things stored away. But here is my question I can always find clearanced girl toys (i.e. disney princesses, etc) that hit really low prices but boy toys never hit those. Is this common to not find really cheap boy toys? I hardly found anything throughout the year for my son. Anyway, I have digressed. Keep posting these because some of us really need them. I have a few items I would LOVE to get my kids and so know you are doing good not inducing us to spend like crazy.
Peggy says
Well said Shannon! I would first like to let you know that with your help, I have learned how to actually get thru this terrible economy and be able to score many items greatly reduced, or even free. I am not talking about gifts here, but simple survival and necessities. That being said, to those of you in the same economic boat, you have to stop feeling bad if you can not afford to buy others presents at the holidays. No one would be happy that you went without a basic need to purchase them a gift. You would be surprised how a homemade coupon for a free walk shoveling or an afternoon of babysitting can be just as treasured. I know this does not apply to all of you, but for those of you that it does, STOP THE SHAME!!
Kim says
Something my husband and I have started doing after we make our budget and decide how much we are spending on each person, we take the money out of the bank in cash. Therefore, we are not as tempted to just add additional items because you are using a credit card! This keeps us more on track than just charging everything. I would recommend it if you can set aside the amount in cash.