Is Christmas Perfection Costing You Money?

The whole “Christmas is getting too commercial” mantra has been going on for a while. everyone seems to admit that it is true, but very few do anything to change the way that they consume during the holidays. Related to the commercial issue is the perfection issue. So many of us dream of the perfect Christmas with all of the right trimmings. Instead of homemade ornaments, popcorn, cranberries, gingerbread and paper chains, we have to have glittery ornaments that are color coordinated in silver and blue or gold and burgundy. Instead of a few candles in the window or a … Continue reading →

Don’t Let Christmas Guilt Cost You More

I have been hearing murmurs about Christmas guilt as the big day gets closer. People are second guessing their decisions to not buy for the extended family. People are thinking that just one item may not satisfy their children. People feel bad for leaving out teachers, mail men, co-workers. People are worried about what they will do if someone gives them a gift if they did not give them anything back. It’s enough to make me want to hide in my room until January first. During the last month or perhaps longer most of use frugal people have seriously considered … Continue reading →

An Ikea Christmas IS a Frugal Christmas

Ikea has dozens of great gifts that cost less than $15.00. If you want to give good gifts this Christmas and don’t want to make anything, and want the gift to be impressive, consider visiting IKEA for Christmas shopping. For less than $15.00 you can buy: Portable laptop desk for your laptop Ikea has several of these in different shapes and sizes. A child’s chair you can paint the child’s name on it for a personal touch. A pair of tab-top curtains in numerous colors. A mobile to hang over a child’s bed. A child’s easel to hours of drawing … Continue reading →

Inexpensive Holiday Gifts: Time

One of the most frugal and heartfelt gifts for the season is the gift of time. Giving of your time and talents is a sure way to make someone’s Christmas merry, even if you are cash poor this year. Gifts of time are appropriate not only for family, but for friends, co-workers and associates as well. The secret is to come up with the right gift for the right person. Just as you would pick out the perfect gift from the store, picking out the perfect gift of time takes some thought. For example, let us say you have two … Continue reading →

Where to Find Nice, Inexpensive Ornaments

Most years I dread taking down the ornaments for the tree, not because of all of the work involved but because of the fear that we won’t have enough ornaments. Most of the ornaments we have are either broken or long faded. Since they were never family heirlooms, with the exception of a handful of ornaments, I don’t feel bad about replacing them. They were mostly hand me down and tacky dollar store ornaments. The problem is, that buying new ornaments can be expensive, especially when you have an entire tree to fill. So that was my mission: find some … Continue reading →

Fun Holiday Things to Do with Gift Wrap

(And they have nothing to do with wrapping.) With all of the great deals on gift wrap, from dollar store rolls (I’ve found some great quality stuff there) to last year’s 90 percent off, I thought I would brainstorm a bit on other uses for the stuff. After all, it is festive, and this inexpensive resource can take the place of other things, thus saving money. My ideas are below. Please share some of yours! Decorations Last night my neighbor showed us a very fun way to decorate for the holidays. This would not only work for Christmas but for … Continue reading →

Frugal Gift Wrap Ideas

Any frugalista knows that you should purchase your gift wrap and holiday paper during post Christmas sales to stock up for the year. At many of the Hobby Stores and Pharmacy chain stores, you can easily find it for 75% to 90% off. This can easily save you $100 to $200 in gift wrap costs for the year. But what do you do when have run out of gift wrap or (gasp) didn’t make it to the post Christmas sales? You find free options around your home for wrapping gifts. Here are some things you can try. Use your origami … Continue reading →

How Much Should You Spend on Christmas Gifts?

We talk a lot about ways to save money, don’t we? And since we are in the holiday season, we’ll be sharing more ideas that focus on saving money during the holidays. But one thing that I notice is missing in the frugal living posts is an actual guideline about how much, in a dollar amount, that you should be spending on Christmas gifts. We all tend to go a little bit overboard during the holidays, and we figure that we will just cut back on other things later. Each of our families have their own financial limitations when it … Continue reading →

Quick Inexpensive Stocking Stuffers

Does everyone do stocking stuffers? Our poor kids. Some years they get stockings, and some years they don’t. This year, I am resolved to have their stockings all filled. But not with expensive items that together would cost as much as a good quality full-sized gift. Instead, I’ve come up with a bunch of quick and inexpensive stocking stuffers that are either low cost or free. Target Target has some shelves where all items are priced only $1. There are some good finds in there. Recently I spotted two pairs of stretchy kids gloves (packaged together), a full-sized slinky, a … Continue reading →

Earning Extra Holiday Money

If the finances are tight, then figuring out how to gain the money to be able to afford the holidays can be daunting. Besides the presents, there is food, decorating, charity gifts and more. Sometimes the solution is to simply earn some extra money in order to afford the holidays. I like this idea much better than going into credit card debt. If you find yourself in this situation, or if you simply want to be able to sail through the holidays without extra bills, try one of these ideas for earning extra holiday money. Have a yard or virtual … Continue reading →