Apr
11
These days, weddings happen year round, but spring through early fall are peak wedding season. If you’ve got invitations and save-the-dates stacking up on your fridge, you’re probably already wondering how you’re going to afford it all. Use these ten tips to survive wedding season without going into debt or using up all your spare cash.
Set a Wedding Budget
Budgets aren’t just for brides. You probably already know how many weddings you’ll be invited to. Look at your budget and then set a limit for gifts and related travel. Once you’ve set your budget, prioritize it amongst all the invitations. You may find that you can only attend one out-town-wedding and four in-town weddings, and will only send small gifts to the rest.
Don’t Feel Obligated to Attend
Don’t fall into the “they came to ours” trap. Your situation is not their situation. Unless it’s your sister, brother, parent, child, or best friend, you don’t have to go. If it’s your third cousin three states away that you met once, you really don’t have to go. She probably doesn’t even want you to come and only sent an invitation because her mother told her to.
Don’t Feel Obligated to Spend as Much as They Did
Once again, it doesn’t matter what they spent on your wedding gift. Your situations are different. If all you can afford is a card and a promise to make them dinner (and admire the pictures) after they honeymoon, they’ll appreciate it. Or give them a service - maybe you’re good at painting and they just bought a house. Give them a weekend of painting help. The key is not to skip the gift entirely. A simple card says you at least gave the couple some thought before you ate the free dinner and drank the free booze.
Shop Early to Save on Gifts
Check the registry as soon as you receive the save the date. Plan to buy your gift four or five months in advance to ensure that the gifts in your price range are still available. Lower-priced gifts are often snatched up for bridal showers.
Buy Several Gifts at Once
If you’re attending mostly local weddings, make one trip to buy all the gifts. That way you can be sure you don’t go over budget. It also saves gas and time.
Don’t Veer from the Registry to Save Money
Rather than buy something mid-priced that’s not on the list but looks really nice, buy a selection of cheap things and combine them into one gift. Trust me, if they didn’t register for the $50 10-glass set, they don’t want it. If you do veer off-list, include the receipt. Don’t make the couple figure out where you bought it so they can return it.
Gift Cards and Cash Are Golden
If you can’t find a gift in your price range, give cash or a gift card from a store where they’re registered. Don’t get creative with the gift cards, though. If you live in another state, they may not be able to use a gift card from your local store. If you don’t live near a store where they’re registered, either give cash or order a gift card online.
Re-Gift Wisely (No One Wants Your Old Junk)
Many people re-gift wedding gifts. You can pull off a nice crystal vase or a silver frame, but no one wants the ugly plastic pitcher you used once or the cheap doll you picked up on your last vacation and now don’t have a place for.
Turn an Out-of-Town Wedding into Your Vacation
If you’re invited to an out-of-town wedding in a location you’ve always wanted to visit, stretch the trip out on either side and turn it into your affordable vacation for the year.
Wear the Same Suit or Dress to All of Them
You don’t have to buy a different outfit and shoes for each wedding. No one will notice what you’re wearing - all eyes are on the bride. If it fits, looks good on you, and doesn’t compete with the bride or her bridesmaids, that’s all that matters.
I’m lucky - I only have two weddings to attend this year. We were invited to a third wedding, but attending would have cost $1500. Even though the bride attended ours, it’s just not in our budget. I did send a nice gift from her registry, which I bought when it was on sale! We’ll survive wedding season just fine.
If you have other tips, share them in the comments! You might also find some of my Christmas shopping tips helpful. Many can also be applied to wedding gifts.
Jan
28
Five Ways to Save Money on Valentine’s Day
Filed Under Expenses, Gift, Holiday, Saving Money | 5 Comments
I’m not a Valentine’s Day scrooge. I have celebrated the day with great fanfare in the past - usually early in a relationship. Now that I’ve been with my husband for nine years, the day is becoming less important to me. Also, I don’t find being surrounded by hordes celebrating enforced romance the least bit romantic.
I also recognize that most of the Valentine’s Day pressure is a result of women’s expectations. If men had their druthers, the day would vanish. I see their point. We women have been trained to expect diamonds, roses, and lavish dinners on February 14. That can get quite pricey for men.
Five Inexpensive Valentine’s Day Ideas
Here are a few simple ideas to make Valentine’s Day cheaper and yet still enjoyable.
Change the date: This year it falls on a Thursday. Who wants to rush out to dinner on a Thursday? Instead, go out on Friday or Saturday this year. Not only will the restaurant be less crowded, you’ll probably get the same food without the special, overpriced “Valentine’s Day menu.” True, you might sacrifice the rose or little chocolate the restaurant gives you, but are those little extras really worth the additional cost? We did once go to a very nice restaurant on Valentine’s Day and get the prix fix meal, but we found the service harried and the dinner not quite worth the price. I didn’t even get the promised rose.
Enjoy a romantic dinner at home: Light candles, set a nice table, and then serve up your favorite foods. Chicken Marsala with roasted red potatoes and a nice wine would be delicious, and remarkably easy to prepare. Or you could kick the romance up a notch and choose foods you can feed each other, like cheese fondue or a dessert of chocolate fondue.
Skip (or delay) the flowers and jewelry: Both of these are significantly marked up for Valentine’s Day. The price of roses doubles, especially since they’re not in season this time of year and have probably been flown in from Ecuador.
If you still want flowers, order them the next day. One year, my husband bought me a pretty bouquet on February 15. I returned home from work to find it on the kitchen table. I was stunned and delighted, and it cost him 50% less. If you opt for this, skip the roses. They will be leftovers from the day before and probably not in great condition. Instead my arrangement had irises (my favorite) and “filler” flowers that lasted for over three weeks.
Buy a card: I like to receive a card from my husband on Valentine’s Day. He has yet to fully grasp that “not doing anything” means “exchanging cards,” but I do buy him a card. Apparently 85% of Valentine’s Day cards are bought my women. I prefer funny cards, which are usually around to $2. Sappy cards can get as high as $10, but I’d aim for $5 maximum for a card that will only wind up in a recycling bin in a few days.
Buy small yet decadent chocolate gifts: At least for women. My Dad loves a See’s chocolate assortment. My mom and I would rather receive one really decadent piece of chocolate than deluxe Valentine’s Day gift baskets. If you have a chocolate-lover in your life, visit a gourmet chocolatier to buy one or two very good truffles. That will run you about $5.00 and no one has to feel guilty about the calories and fat. They taste better, too.
Some people insist on going all out for Valentine’s Day, but I don’t think you have to focus all your romantic energy on one day. I’d rather find small, affordable ways to celebrate our relationship year-round.
What are your ideas for saving money on Valentine’s Day?
Dec
17
Christmas Gifts Kids Can Make
Filed Under Budget, Gift, Holiday | Leave a Comment
Thanks to JD at Get Rich Slowly for including me in this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance. Check out the carnival on his blog for more tips on saving money for the holidays! When I was a kid, my family still exchanged gifts with everyone else in the family. That meant my sister and I had to find affordable gifts to give all our cousins, aunts, and uncles. Once the adults switched to drawing names, my sister and I still bought gifts for everyone who bought us gifts.
To stay within our very limited budgets, we usually went to a local holiday boutique or fair to buy cheap ornaments or dish towels or other Christmasy gifts. None of them were very personal, but we mostly gave them out of a sense of obligation.
Now that my family has switched to a gift swap (like a white elephant, but with presents people actually want), my adult cousins have come up with idea for Christmas gifts their kids can make instead of having them buy us little trinkets. They’ve come up with some really great ideas over the years.
Photo Calendar
They made photo calendars with bound white paper and photo reprints. Then on the long drive down from their home, they had the kids decorated the pages and marked the family birthdays. When the year was over, I unstuck the photos from the pages and put them in my album.
Christmas Tile/Trivet
Another cousin bought plain white tiles. She and her daughter spent an afternoon decorating them with rubber stamps, and then glazed the tops. I lay the tile on my kitchen table every holiday season and it always reminds me of them.
Photo Frames
Another year, my cousins assembled foam frames during the drive down and stuck their school photos inside. They’ve also made construction paper frames. They usually attach a magnet to the back and then I put the frame on my fridge for the year.
Mixed CD
One cousin sat down with her daughter and had her choose songs for mixed holiday CDs. They printed labels for the CDs and then had my aunt distribute them. We had three or four different CDs, and because they couldn’t be with us, we played them during the night.
When my sister was in school, she made a lot of photo ornaments. Some were clay, others were construction paper. They all had her school photo inside and are still hung on the tree every year. Some of my cousins have also given us photo ornaments. One year, rather than they use photos, they painted plain ornaments and gave those out. I still have one. Cookie dough ornaments are also great – but remember, the dough isn’t the same as for regular cookies. Cookie ornaments are definitely not edible.
Making candles can be dangerous for kids, but you can buy two or three inch white pillar candles at the craft store. Buy a few flat sheets of wax and help your kids cut out shapes to decorate the candles with.
Cookies or Fudge
For a few years, I decided to buy cheap holiday tins at the craft store and then fill them with homemade cookies. My mom and I spent an afternoon baking them. I made chocolate kiss thumbprint cookies, oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate chip, snickerdoodles, and other favorites. If anyone in your family is allergic to nuts, avoid making any with nuts so they don’t get cross-contaminated, but there are plenty of cookies you can make without them. My mom also has an excellent fudge recipe. Not only have we given it to relatives, but numerous teachers have received and loved the fudge over the years.
Dec
14
Seven Tips to Save Money Shipping Holiday Gifts
Filed Under Gift, Holiday, Saving Money, Time Management | Leave a Comment
Shipping holiday gifts successfully requires advance planning, unless you’re willing to spend a fortune on it. If you are, then by all means, ship your gifts December 21st by two-day air. If you’re like me and don’t want spend more on the shipping than the gift, use these seven tips to save money. You might even save time.
Plan to ship everything by Monday, December 17. That way you can use Priority Mail. (If you’re shipping jewelry or other expensive items, use UPS or FedEx ground delivery. It will cost more, but it’s more secure.)
If you haven’t already purchased the gifts you need to ship, order them online and have them shipped directly. If you’re buying from an online store that offers free shipping, see if the total cost of the gifts for each destination is more than the minimum purchase for free shipping. If so, place separate orders so you get free shipping to each destination. If you’d have to pay for shipping to each destination, compare the cost having them all shipped to you free and then shipping them to the recipients yourself.
Next year, use the online USPS, UPS, and FedEx rate calculators and online product information to determine the shipping costs for gifts you’re ordering. One year I discovered my cousin’s gift was very heavy. The post office would have charged $12 to ship it. Rather than include it in the order being shipped to me, I had it shipped directly to her. I had to pay $4.95 for wrapping, but it was still cheaper than shipping it myself. You can also compare the cost of buying the gift online and having it shipped direct vs. buying it at a local store and shipping it yourself. Another year I could buy my cousin’s gift cheaper at a local store. Once wrapping was factored in, the cost of ordering it was more than the cost for me to mail it.
Consolidate your gifts. Rather than buy individual gifts for each family member, choose something the parents and children or both members of the couple will enjoy together. That way you only have to ship one gift instead of three or four and it’s a chance for the family to spend time together.
If shipping holiday gifts by USPS, print your postage online. Simply create an account at their website, enter the address and weight info, then select your preferred method, and pay. You can print a label on plain paper and tape it to the box with clear packing tape. Not only will you save time waiting in line, but you get free delivery confirmation on Priority and Express mail packages. You can either drop the package off without waiting in line or arrange a free pick-up by your regular carrier. If you’re not home during the day, I recommend having it picked up from your office.
Use free packaging. Save some of the shipping boxes you receive during the year and reuse them to ship gifts. Save some of the packing material to avoid buying it yourself. If the gift will fit, you can also use the post office’s free Priority or Express Mail boxes for your gifts. UPS and FedEx also offer free packaging supplies.
Set aside a Saturday to wrap and package gifts. Rather than ship gifts a few times during the holidays, spend a few hours one weekend wrapping all your gifts, then putting them in shipping boxes, printing postage, and dropping them off at the post office. By doing everything at once, you’ll save a lot of time and hassle.
Don’t ship food gifts. If you’ve baked something, give it to local people. Homemade baked goods often arrive broken or spoiled. If you must ship baked goods, mail them on a Monday or Tuesday by two-day delivery so they arrive quickly and don’t have to spend a weekend in a warehouse.
Dec
12
Hostess Gifts That Won’t Break the Bank
Filed Under Gift, Holiday, Saving Money | Leave a Comment
When you’re invited to a party during the holiday season, or at any time of year, tradition dictates that you bring a hostess gift. Buying a nice bottle of wine for every hostess can quickly add up. Rather than buy wine by the case, stock up on more affordable gifts that you can give throughout the year.
Craft stores are great places to find great hostess gifts, especially around the holidays. Check your Sunday paper for sales at your local Michael’s or Joann’s. Look for notices like “all candles 40% off” and “holiday décor 40% off,” then visit the store during your lunch hour one day that week.
I recently visited Michael’s for their candle sale. I found lovely cellophane-wrapped candles for anywhere from $3-5 dollars. I also noticed that their ornaments were on sale, for anywhere from $1-5. Baskets were on sale, too. In fact, just about everything in the store was on sale. If you hit on a sale like this, grab a cart and go to town. Find large ornaments that look expensive, but aren’t. Look for pre-wrapped candles or very large candles you can wrap nicely. I would avoid strongly scented candles or cheesy snowman candle holders - you never know which hostess will enjoy kitsch. When it comes to hostess gifts, classy is the way to go.
When you get home, spend an afternoon packaging the gifts. Perhaps pair a candle and a small ornament or add a pretty ribbon to a wrapped candle. Put a few small candles in a small basket and wrap it in cellophane. Put them all in a plastic box in the closet so you can grab a gift whenever you need one.
You can get several gifts for $6-7 each if you mix and match carefully, but your hostess will think you spent much more.
If you want to plan ahead for next year, visit that same craft store or a large department store the day after Christmas. You’ll find all those items marked down 60% or more. If you buy an assortment of candles, you can use the resulting hostess gifts year-round. Simply visit the craft store a few times a year to buy small, discounted sprigs of seasonal silk flowers or rolls of seasonal ribbon to attach to the cellophane-wrapped candle. Your hostess never has to know you bought the candle nine months earlier in a blow-out sale!
Dec
11
Saving Money: Christmas Wrapping Paper and Gift Bags
Filed Under Gift, Holiday, Saving Money | Leave a Comment
Let’s get this out of the way right now: I am not one of those people who carefully opens a gift so that I can fold and save the Christmas wrapping paper. One of my aunts used to do that, and it was really annoying to watch her open a gift. It took forever because she spent so much time on the paper. I think she would have been happier receiving a roll of gift wrap every Christmas.
There are a few reasons I don’t save gift wrap:
- It probably won’t fit another gift,
- It tears easily, so it’s hard to safely store
- It’s cheap and easy to recycle.
However, I do have a few ways to save money on gift wrap and gift bags without going to the effort of saving paper from opened gifts. I do save gift bags, as does everyone I know. They can be reused for years without ever looking worn out.
Christmas Wrapping Paper Tips
- Buy a wrapping kit at Costco, Target, or another similar store either early in the Christmas season or at the very end of the season to save for the following year. Every few years, I buy a new kit at Costco. It comes with 4-6 large rolls of paper, ribbons, bows, and little doodads to add to the top of the gift. To save money on year-round wrapping paper, I look for a kit with one roll that isn’t overly Christmasy. For example, my kit came with a purple roll that I use for gifts the rest of the year.
- Buy gift bag kits. This year, I needed new gift bags because I gave more than I received back last year, and found a 23-bag package for $15.89. I’ve seen plain gift bag packs at other stores for a similar price, but the bags I chose are super-fancy. If I bought these bags separately, they would cost at least $5 each. I paid 69 cents per bag, plus tax.
- Buy ribbons and bows in bulk. You can use the shiny ribbon that comes on large rolls, or you can use fancy fabric ribbon. Either visit one of the large discount stores early in the season, or watch for a sale on fancy ribbon at a craft store. Buy several rolls that you can use for several years. You’ll usually find bulk boxes of bows at the same place you buy the paper and bags. Like gift bags, they can be used several times before becoming squashed into oblivion. I also reuse fancy fabric ribbons because they’re durable. Metallic and paper ribbon are too flimsy to use again. Any doodads that come on your gifts can also be saved for reuse later.
- Buy both paper and sticky tags. I punch a hole in the paper tags and tie them to the gift bags so I don’t ruin the bags. I use sticky tags on gift wrap because paper tags fall off too easily. I don’t think I’ve bought new tags for at least five years because the packages are so large.
Once all my gift wrap purchases are added up, I probably spend about $6 a year on gift wrap because I buy in bulk. If you want to save more on Christmas wrapping paper, buy plain white or brown butcher block paper and decorate it with rubber stamps, stickers, or pretty ribbon. Personally, I like the brightly colored paper.
Dec
10
Save Money on White Elephant Gifts
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I’ve been a party to several white elephant gift exchanges over the years. Of course, I’ve never once found the item I received remotely useful, but the fun was in the swapping, not in the receiving. If you have a white elephant exchange planned this season, here are a few tips for finding a contribution to the game.
- Read the rules of the exchange. Usually there will be a value limit or instructions to bring something used from home. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to spend the entire limit - you can find great gag gifts for much less.
- Scrounge around home to find something to give. Most people have a storage closet somewhere in their homes where they’ve put all the bad gifts they’ve received over the years. I have several stashed in my office closet. If you’re married, you no doubt have a few horrid wedding gifts tucked away somewhere. That set of Tupperware you received with mismatched lids? Perfect. That odd crystal duck you got as a bridal shower prize? Class it up with a newspaper wrapped box. The giant orange and purple vase your aunt Myrtle made in her beginning pottery class? This is your chance to share her artistry with someone else.
- Hit the thrift stores. If you can’t find something good in your own home, visiting a thrift store is the next best option for white elephant gifts. You can find some amazingly tacky, and cheap, gag gifts at your favorite thrift store.
- Visit the gas station mini-mart or the toy aisle of the grocery store. Last year at my office white elephant exchange, one of the most popular items was a light up hobby horse that appeared to be from the grocery store.
- Visit the bulk aisle of the grocery store. Two other popular items in our exchange were economy-sized boxes of laundry detergent and cereal. Even better, get generic versions.
- If you want something less gag-like, but still cheap, previously viewed DVDs are a great idea. You can also check the bargain aisle at the bookstore for a silly calendar or a bargain book somehow related to your business. If your topic is covered by the Dummies or Idiots guides, grab one of those as your contribution.
- If you’re totally strapped for time, get a coffee or office supply gift card. Unlike most other gifts, these are actually useful.
- If you forgot about the exchange until just before the party, some office supplies make good gifts. Salespeople can toss a few conference goodies into a bag and call it a day. Who doesn’t want a giant logo pen, a plastic water bottle, an oddly-shaped pin cushion, and a labeled memory stick?
At some point in your life, you’ll be invited to a white elephant party. So, while it’s tempting to toss those old wedding gifts you hate or that thing you bought that you’ve never used, keep one or two tucked away in the garage or closet. Then you’ll always have white elephant gifts ready to go. If you have to give and get a few of these a year, I strongly recommend regifting - let someone else enjoy the wealth of tacky items foisted upon you every year.
Dec
6
Supporting Christmas Charity Drives
Filed Under Charity, Gift, Holiday | Leave a Comment
After my aunt passed away nearly a decade ago, another aunt started a tradition of adopting a needy family in her honor every Christmas. The deceased aunt was very big on charitable giving, so an annual Christmas charity donation was a perfect fit.
It’s very easy to find families to help, but it can be expensive for one small family to adopt another family. If you pool your resources among your extended family or a group of friends, you can give much more without hurting your budget. For example, each adult in my extended family donates $10. Either my aunt or my cousin contacts her local church’s or county’s charity drive to tell them how much we have to give. The services matches us with a needy family and sends a wish list. She collects the money, buys the gifts the family wants, and delivers them to the charity. There are currently 15 adults in my family, so that’s $150.
For several years, we adopted the same family with a child suffering from a severe disability. Later we found out we actually had a personal connection to that family, which made the annual gifts all the more meaningful.
This year, my immediate family is adding another adopted family to the mix. We normally spend Christmas Day with family friends. Rather than exchange gifts none of us need, my mom suggested we adopt a family as a group. We have 11-13 people donating $10 each. My mom and their mom will go shopping together to buy the requested items and deliver them to a charity group they work with.
So, for a total of $20, I’m helping give two families a much merrier Christmas. I certainly don’t need whatever I would have received for that token amount, and I feel better knowing it went to someone who really does need it.
If you and your friends or relatives want to adopt a family, simply contact your local church, family support groups, city, or county to ask about their “Adopt-a-Family” program. You can also just Google your city and “adopt a family” or your city and “Christmas charity.”
Dec
5
Saving Money: Using Coupon Codes at Christmas
Filed Under Gift, Holiday, Saving Money | Leave a Comment
This year I’ll be doing nearly half of my Christmas shopping online. Last year that number was probably closer to 75%, but this year I found some of the gifts I needed at Costco. So far I’ve only needed to visit two online stores to get many of my gifts: Amazon and Red Envelope. Red Envelope specializes in high quality, unusual gifts in a wide range of prices (some of them are even affordable). Their gifts are great for moms, dads, best friends - and they always offer coupon codes.
With Amazon, it’s easy enough to get a good deal simply by buying enough to get free shipping. One caveat, make sure the item states that it’s eligible for free shipping. Affiliated stores usually charge shipping, even if you otherwise qualify. To save more, watch your cart for sales. That’s how I saved 60% on two gifts yesterday, and still got free shipping.
With Red Envelope, I also monitor the site to see if any of the gifts I’m buying are on sale. If something goes on sale before my purchase deadline, I grab the deal. If it doesn’t, I buy it on my deadline date to make sure it arrives in time. This year, I combined a sale item with a coupon code, which saved me an additional 10%.
If you want to use coupon codes, simply search online for “[name of the store] coupon codes.” For example, I searched for “red envelope coupon codes.” You’ll see a list of numerous sites. I’ve had good luck with Coupon Cabin for the stores I shop, but your results will vary.
Check each site, looking for notes on which coupons are working and when they expire. With Red Envelope, one site listed either 10% off the entire purchase or free shipping. I did the math and determined that 10% off was a slightly better deal, so I used that one. If that hadn’t worked, I would have kept trying different codes until I found one that did.
If you can’t find coupon codes, you can also search for promotional codes and discount codes. A few stores never offer coupon codes. If you really like a store, join their mailing list. They’ll regularly email you sale announcements and coupon codes. I’ve never paid full price for anything at Ann Taylor Loft because they send me a coupon code nearly every day.
And remember, using a coupon code doesn’t mean you have to spend more out of guilt! Four years ago I bought my husband a game I knew he’d love, but it rang up at one cent. I felt so bad about only spending a penny on him that I bought him a second game for $40 (my budgeted amount.) He loved the first game, and still hasn’t played the second game.
Dec
5
Saving Money: Christmas Shopping Lists and Budgets
Filed Under Budget, Gift, Holiday, Saving Money | Leave a Comment
I’ve always relied on a Christmas shopping list and spending budget, but in past years I’ve been a little looser with my “spending limits.” Not this year. I’m determined to pay off lots of debt in 2008, which means getting a head start in 2007 by spending less while still enjoying the holiday spirit.
Here’s how I create my list and set my budget:
- In early November, make a list of all the people I have to give gifts.
- Determine my holiday budget for gifts.
- Break that down into specific amounts for each person and note that number next to the person’s name.
- Consider joint gifts and pooling resources with a friend or relative. In my family, my mother, sister, and I pool our resources to buy better gifts for my cousins. Even though we each only spend $10-12 on each child, the combined total of $30-36 means they get a gift they really want. This year, two cousins want the same video game, so we’re giving them a joint gift, plus a small gift card for each of them.
- Look through catalogs, notice items while in stores, and check online for potential gifts. Think about the person’s interests and personality. When I spend less, it’s important to get a meaningful gift. If I can’t think of anything that would be meaningful, I consider no longer exchanging gifts with that person. I no longer buy gifts for the majority of my friends because it had become an obligation rather than a pleasure. With many, it wasn’t something we discussed, we just simply stopped.
- Narrow down the gift choices, but leave a few options within my stated limit. Include sales tax or shipping costs in that budget.
- Start shopping early to be sure I get the gifts you want and avoid last minute panic-buying - which nearly always leads to overpaying.
- Start shopping online to determine appropriate prices and whether it may be cheaper to buy online, once shipping and tax are included. Note online prices on your list.
- For online shopping, I try to buy several gifts from the same site to get a discount or earn free shipping.
- Carry my list with me at all times so I can buy the right gift when I see it. This also helps me avoid overspending on an impulse gift.
- If I spend less than the stated amount, I count that as savings. I don’t necessarily have to spend more just because the gift I found was on sale or costs less than the amount I feel I should spend. A meaningful gift is meaningful regardless of the price tag. Last night, I discovered my cousin’s gift was marked down 60% for one day. I jumped on the deal, and don’t feel guilty about spending less than planned. She’s still getting exactly what she wants.
As an added bonus, my list and budget method usually means I’m done shopping by mid-December. I have the luxury of taking advantage of free shipping by shopping early and never have to battle the crowds at the mall.
