12 Days of Sophie: Saving Money over the Holidays
Happy Tuesday! Today, I thought I would research a few ways to save money this season. The holiday season can get expensive quickly, and I thought some of these money saving tips were worth sharing. Enjoy!
Homemade Gifts:
Homemade gifts can not only be cheaper but can help you learn a new skill. I’ve made quick paintings, personalized videos, and little desk shelves. Homemade gifts can be super personalized to someone’s specific interests and needs. Here are some examples of easy tutorials to follow:
Make your own Decorations:
Every year I make these large snowflakes out of regular sheets of printer paper. Making your own decorations can be fun for you and your friends or family to do together and prevents unnecessary trips to Target with the purpose of buying more decorations. Also, your decorations can be made to perfectly fit your own personal tastes and to fit your own spaces. Here are some more tutorials I’m thinking of trying:
Use Discounts (military, store, student, etc.):
Honestly, this is something I forget to ask for so often. As a retail sales associate myself, I know that our store will give them out only if a customer specifically asks. Be sure to ask or check online to see if there are extra discounts available that might not be advertised in store.
Budget Friendly Activities:
With family and friends coming into town, a fair amount of money often goes into entertaining through activities. For me, the movies is a little pricey, and there are so many other activities that are honestly just as fun. Having a movie night at home with homemade popcorn and hot chocolate can help balance the budget better along with craft making (multitask by making some decorations or homemade gifts) or baking. Here is a recipe for some classic iced sugar cookies:
Make a List:
Write out a budget. Figure out everyone you want to buy gifts for and set yourself some limits. I managed to find some great gifts at our local thrift store (i.e. a Minecraft poster for my brother that I only had to buy a new frame for) that can be upcycled. Looking online also helps me find a range of items for various price points. This really helps me stay closer to my budget. Here are some more tips I found online:
Thanks for reading today's post! I hope you are as inspired as I am for gift shopping and decorating. I can't wait to try out some of these tutorials. (All the images are linked to the web pages I found them on)
