The 12 tips of Christmas savings

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Let’s face it, the holiday season always means spending a lot more money. I wish I could tell you that you could get through December without an, extra dent in your budget, but there’s no way.

In the past I have told you of ways to make your holidays greener. In those articles you will

Image: Rawpixel.

find ways to save here and there on what you buy and what you give, though the approach in them was to be kinder to the planet when making choices. This year I wanted to focus on making less of a dent on that budget. So, let’s get to it.

Saving on Christmas presents

1. Make a list of gifts by person and stick to that. If you know that there are specific presents from specific stores that you will need, it would be good time to sign up for those stores’ newsletters so that you can get coupon codes or sales notices. 
2. Encourage a secret Santa system at work or among your closest friends. If instead of buying four $30 gifts you only could buy one, you could increase the agreed price and still save when buying just the one. 
3. Consider what your friends and family members might need, time-wise. Does someone need a babysitter often? Is there a garage that they mean to clean out and organize but never get to it? Is there a favorite dish that you could cook ahead of time and give, like frozen homemade lasagna? Giving your time and/or experience is an extremely thoughtful present and it will save you time. Get a nice card to create a nice voucher for it, and you’re set. 
4. If you have a lot of people to buy for (work, family) it’s a good idea to buy a couple of

   

   Image: South House Boutique.

   generic gifts (health supplies basket, a Target gift card, one or two bottles of wine). Make these gifts things that you can use yourself if you don’t give them, that way you just might! 
5. While you’re at it, take stock of the gift cards you own, and use them up to buy some presents -especially if they’re soon expiring-! 
6. Speaking of vouchers, if there’s an expensive item on a someone’s wish list that you would like to buy, you can save on that by giving an I.O.U. that states you will get the person that item at the after-Christmas sales. 

Saving on cooking

1. Before making a menu, check your cupboards. If you’re the kind that receives at least one Christmas basket a year, then up there in the back you will find all sorts of interesting seasonings to help you make lamb, turkey, ham or seafood more sophisticated, it will help use up things you had forgotten, and save you money.

   

   Image: Rawpixel.

    
2. About those nibbles: how often have you come to the table at Christmas already stuffed with chips, olives, and finger foods? Well, cut back on those. Instead, consider making your own canapés, which will look nicer, will allow you to save by choosing what you put on them, and get people to the table with room to actually, eat dinner. 
3. On the main course: we all wish we could buy that fresh leg of lamb, but it’s on the fresh meats and seafood items where we end up spending the most. It is perfectly OK to look for frozen meats, and I would suggest going online to the pages of all your local markets and looking for the cut of meat or type of fish you plan on serving. When you find it on sale or well-priced, it’d be best to buy it and freeze it for later. Right now, here in Finland, I’m holding out for turkey because it’s what my family wants for Christmas this year. Turkeys here are rather large -so far, the smallest I’ve found are 11 lbs. and for a dinner for 3 that would cost me $56 on turkey alone. I’m budgeting the full amount in case it doesn’t work out, but I have 2 weeks to see. 
4. Of course, if you plan on making it worth your time, it would also be a good idea to buy a large turkey, and plan on freezing a bunch of leftovers to eat the next 3 months! 
5. Boxed wine. This one makes many people cringe. I used to cringe too, but a couple of

   

   Image: Toa Heftiba.

   years ago I read an article by a French sommelier defending the consumption of boxed wine. He explained that boxed wines allow the producers to send wine abroad at a lower cost (because of the weight per volume), which only results in consumers being able to buy cheaper wines in the box. So, we can either get the wine we like cheaper, or a better wine in a box for the price of a different, cheaper wine that comes in a bottle, with a lesser impact on the environment. He also encouraged people to try it because, the more demand there is for wines in the box format, the more wineries will be willing to sell better products this way. He convinced me, and I hope that he convinced you too. 
6. On dessert: if you know how to cook, and based on your guest list, keep in mind that there are delicious, decadent puddings, cakes that need no decorating but a pretty drizzle, or cheesecakes that are delish and easy to present. They can all be made a day ahead, saving you time and money. 

To end: if you see that you just can’t make your expenses fit, OAS FCU offers a holiday loan (LINK) for a limited time that has a very decent rate and a short payback period as loans go. Alternatively, if you have existing loans, consider the possibility of skipping payments and saving yourself the time and hassle of incurring new debt. (LINK)

Oh, and December is the perfect time to start a Holiday Club account. If you’ve never had one, try it, it’s an extremely rewarding experience. (LINK)

Happy holidays!