The holidays are right around the corner. Planning who to shop for and what to get now can work to your wallet’s advantage and reduce the stress of frantically running around later to get the perfect gift. Shoppers can stay within their budgets and pick out something for everyone on their list using the tips below.
1. Make it a habit to shop at the bulk store.
Take the stress out of finding the perfect gift by going with a theme. Maybe this is the year that many of the recipients on your list receive a bottle of wine, a bag of their favorite gourmet coffee beans or a batch of biscotti. You can cross a bunch of people off of your list in one fell swoop by batch purchasing. This approach can potentially save you time and money while getting your shopping done. Compare prices to get the best deals. You can always personalize a gift by adding some sort of gift topper to whatever you end up buying to make it more personal.
2. Buy in bulk at any store.
Buying multiples doesn’t only have to happen at a bulk warehouse store. I have found some useful generic gifts at craft stores. Stationery, fancy pens, festive-scented soaps, ornaments and more can serve as wonderful, economical gifts. Search around for other stores where you can buy multiple items for less.
You can even personalize them. One year I found a bunch of decorative wooden shovels that were nicely painted with winter scenes on them at a craft store. I purchased metallic markers and wrote the recipient’s last name in fancy letters. This can also be done for magnets that have a flat surface and enough space to write on them with a permanent marker.
3. Light up your purchases.
Candles are another useful item to stock up on. They are practical and festive. Try to find out the favorite candle scent of the people on your list. This way you can hit a sale and get a bunch of shopping done at once while spending less. You might even be able to support a local school that often has candle fundraisers. You won’t even necessarily need to leave your home to order or receive your purchases. Get your shopping done while boosting the school’s budget for much needed supplies, school field trips or playground-improvement plan.
4. Give easy to make, edible gifts.
People enjoy gifts that are a labor of love even if you didn’t technically spend hours in the kitchen. Those with a sweet tooth will enjoy chocolate bark, brownies, simple cookies and even trail mix. These are all relatively easy to make and you don’t have to purchase too many ingredients. Also, many baking items go on sale near the holidays so stock up when they do.
5. Be a repeat offender.
Traditions are really just repeated behaviors wrapped in meaning. Make it a habit to give the same gift every year as a tradition. My family members would always look forward to their chocolate-covered popcorn that I made and put in cellophane bags with a pretty tag and ribbon. It was always a usual suspect in the line-up of gifts I would give them. People looked forward to it and it helped cut back on the decision-making process.
6. Set spending limits.
There’s nothing worse than exchanging gifts when you have drastically different ideas about spending limits. It can be embarrassing on both ends. Consider making a rule when exchanging gifts year after year. Have everyone agree to a certain amount to prevent future gift giving awkwardness.
7. Pull names out of a hat.
If you have a big family, give gifts at work or run with the same circle of friends, buying for everyone can get costly. Don’t drain your bank account or wrack your brain to come up with answers. Pull names out of a hat every year so everyone buys for one person. Set a limit for how much to spend. This way you can focus your attention on fewer people and take the time to get them something they’ll really like. It takes the stress out of buying for so many people.
If it’s still too costly to give gifts outside of immediate family, decide to set a rule to exchange gifts on birthdays or another time of year. You could even have a potluck holiday party just to see each other. That can trim costs and allow you to still see people you care about outside of family.
The holidays will be here before you know it. Be strategic about how you shop. Set up guidelines for yourself to establishing smart spending habits. They can serve as a default plan to help you spend less, stay on budget and help you get more gift-giving bang for your buck.
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7 Smart Spending Habits to Adopt for the Holidays originally appeared on usnews.com
