I know that Christmas hasn’t even been gone a month yet, but I can’t help but think about the next holiday season already.
I’ve always tried to shop well in advance of the holiday season because I love finding the best deals, and I just can’t bring myself to face the crazy crowds once the Christmas shopping season is in full swing.
But this year, I’m thinking about our Christmas shopping a little bit differently.
I’ve decided that my goal is to spend as little as possible out-of-pocket this Christmas.
No, that doesn’t mean that everyone is getting a coupon booklet or freebies I gather from the local county fair!
It just means that with a little bit of work and a little bit of savvy shopping, I’m going to buy all our Christmas gifts without dipping into our bank account.
Here’s how I’ll finance my Christmas shopping this year:
Use my credit card rewards. My credit card gives rewards in the form of cash or gift cards. I put all of our major bills and gas purchases on the credit card and pay the bill in full each month. My plan is to use the rewards I earn to help pay for our Christmas. Note: This system only works if you’re willing to pay your credit card in full every month. If you carry a balance on your card, the rewards just aren’t worth it.
Use Swagbucks. I’ll be squirrelling away my Swagbucks throughout the year and cashing them in for gift cards to purchase gifts. Even if you’re only a casual user of Swagbucks, you should be able to get at least one gift on your list using Swagbucks. If you’re able to refer a lot of users, you’ll earn Swagbucks even faster. (Thanks to all of you who have let me refer you to Swagbucks, by the way!)
Participate in surveys. I’ve trimmed down my participation in surveys just because it does take time, but I still plan to earn a little bit of spending cash from MySurvey.com and Global Opinion Panel to help me save for the holidays.
Use MyPoints. MyPoints rewards you for reading your email with points that can be redeemed for gift cards. I’ve been able to earn enough gift card points in each of the three years I’ve used MyPoints to pay for two gifts each season. I love MyPoints because it’s not very time consuming and it’s easy to earn rewards.
Take advantage of other rewards programs. So many companies have started to reward frequent customers with cash and prizes. My favorites are My Coke Rewards, Pampers Gifts to Grow and Huggies Enjoy the Ride Rewards. As I look for items to use my points on, I’ll be thinking of my Christmas shopping list.
Use Ebates. I love earning cash back on my purchases for Ebates, but it seems like whenever I get a “big fat check” from them, I just fritter it away on stuff. Not this year! This year, I’m going to put those quarterly checks toward my Christmas shopping.
Sell some stuff. I plan to unload some more of our stuff at garage sales and on eBay. I’ll put those earnings towards Christmas, too.
Save those coupon savings. It normally just let my coupon savings be absorbed into my regular budget. This year, I’ll set aside a portion of those savings for Christmas. I think having knowing that money is going toward Christmas will motivate me to use coupons more.
So how about you? Are you thinking about Christmas yet? How are you planning to save on Christmas this year?
Note: This post contains affiliate links that help support this blog at no additional cost to you. Please read my full disclosure policy for more details.
You may also like:
Comments on this entry are closed.