6 Money-Saving Strategies for the Holiday Season

There is no time of year I love more than the holiday season. I love the Christmas carols, the smells of cinnamon and pine, the time with family, the decorations - in my book, it's all awesome! But this is also the time of year where panic usually sets in because I know I have to budget for Christmas spending and figure out where the money is going to come from.

However, for the first time in many years, we are going into the holiday season with a real plan. Because we started The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitnessa few months ago, I've already been saving every week. It feels good to know that we will have enough money saved so we won't be strapped for cash or using credit to purchase gifts this year.

6 Money-Saving Strategies for the Holiday Season:

1. Save NOW
I am posting this on November 11th so that means you have over a month to start putting away a little money each pay period to build a bit of savings to get ready for your holiday shopping. This might mean you have a few less lattes, and sell a few items online, but save and make it happen. Ideally, if you can buy a little all year, it won't be such a tight crunch when Christmas rolls around.

2. Start a list
Sit down and figure out who you HAVE to buy for and determine a set amount for each person. Even if you think Timmy is going to look so adorable in that Rudolph sweater, avoid buying more than you budgeted for. I start gathering ideas for my kids as soon as they start spewing out ideas. I keep a list on my phone so it's handy when I need to add to it, and I can wait for deals when they come up.

3. Don't buy for every person you know
I know we tend to think that we need to buy for more people than we really need to. Is it necessary to buy for extended family, all your co-workers and the florist? Learn to draw the line! If these people ARE important to you, why not send them a beautiful card with a heart-felt note? That means so much more than some chocolates or cheese log anyway.

4. Think strategically
Keep your eyes peeled for sales. Buy online IF you can get great deals and free shipping. Cyber Monday can have some crazy cool deals  - this year it falls on December 1st. Mark your calendars. For online shopping, I love Zulily and Amazon.com! Use money-saving apps like Checkout 51 or Coupgon, and use your rewards points (see tip below).

*** This is a really awesome tip for those of you in Canada. While I was shopping at The Real Canadian Superstore a few months ago, I mentioned how much I love the PC Plus Program. The clerk said her mom saves all her points throughout the year so she can redeem them at Christmas time to purchase a majority of her gifts. I totally snagged the idea! I have almost $100 in points saved up (I started a few months ago). I highly recommend you get this app and card, especially if you're buying groceries there anyway. Most weeks they will give you an automatic 25,000 pts ($25) if you spend $250 on groceries. This is on top of the points you get from purchasing selected items!

5. Make homemade gifts
Even before I was a money-saving machine, I often made homemade gifts for neighbours, teachers, daycare workers, etc. because I feel like it means more. Last year we made this awesome, DYI Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix from Seeded at the Table. We packaged them in mason jars wrapped up all pretty-like, and gave them to our closest neighbours. The ingredients were fairly inexpensive and it made quite a large amount. We even made a batch to keep in our cupboards. It lasted a long time!


6. Do your research
If you want to make sure you're buying quality products, check out online reviews. You can also check out what stores are having deals from the convenience of your computer or smart phone. Most of your favourite retailers have emails you can sign up for which notify you when they have promotions.

Stick to your plan, start early, and don't forget what this time of the year is really all about. What are some of your money-saving strategies for Christmas?

A new direction for our family - headed toward financial freedom!

A few weeks ago, a friend asked if anyone was interested in joining a financial challenge group on Facebook. We've always been okay with our finances (not great) but I knew we had the opportunity to improve our financial outlook and I thought a challenge group would be a great way to kick start this endeavour.

Our group follows financial expert, Dave Ramsey's book The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness which breaks down the process of getting out of debt into small, easy to achieve baby steps that are meant to help you get momentum quickly to help encourage you to keep moving toward financial, debt-free, freedom

Here are the 7 steps:

Our first step, and maybe the hardest step of all, was analyzing how much money we were earning and how much money we were spending. This can sometimes create a little heat between couples (if you are married or living with another person), so be prepared to hash a few things out. It wasn't too bad for us as a couple because we both had the same vision for our family so we were happy to move forward. Together.

Once you have figured out where your money is going, you are going to implement a cash envelop and zero based budget system. Here is a video I created to help you understand the budgeting. Also this sheet from Dave Ramsey's website will help figure out your cash flow.

We use cash for things like gasoline, Christmas savings, water bill, groceries, etc. All our other bills are automatic so that money stays in our account until that money is taken out by the utility company or bank for our mortgage. I'll talk more about that in an upcoming post.

We have used this method in the past but fell off the wagon for some reason. We seem to have a better plan in place now and are really embracing this cash system. It's so good to feel like you have control over your spending!

We are at baby step 2 now which is very exciting! We've saved our $1,000 emergency fund which will give us a buffer in case we have a financial emergency while we are trying to pay down our debt.

My goal is to have our debt paid off within a year and our house paid off within 6 - 8 years. Without debt, could you imagine ALL the things you could do?

I want to use this blog to keep our family accountable while helping to encourage and create a dialogue for other families to follow in our footsteps. I encourage people to post their questions, tips and secrets, and I'll make sure to share ours too.

Who else wants to join the revolution? Comment and let us know if you want to join us!