5 Holiday Saving Tips

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  The holiday seasons are upon us.  For college students, this can be one of the greatest times for two reasons: no school and free homemade food!  But with Christmas approaching there's always the dread that comes with having the extra expenses of buying gifts.  Here are some ways to save this holiday season!

1) Make a list.  Before you go out and impulse buy, try to figure out who you need to get gifts for, a few ideas of what to get them, and how much you would like to spend on each person.  By making a list you'll already have an idea before you walk into the store.  Being prepared ahead of time will also allow you to shop around for the best price, find coupons, or try to find a diy project to make.

2) Make your own gifts. Pinterest is the greatest thing ever invented.  It has plenty of ideas of do-it-yourself presents that you can make on a budget.  There are a lot of blogs out there that have crafty ideas that you can make as gifts.  Not only will you save money, but your present will be more personalized and meaningful.  They will love it!

3) Use coupons.  If you're like me, you get about twenty emails a day from stores with coupons and deals.  I usually delete them instantly, but now is the time to start reading.  You can save by utilizing these promotional emails.  Some emails include 40% off plus free shipping, a great saving!  If you hate getting emails, only subscribe to them before Christmas and take yourself off the email list after that.  Also, take advantage of social media.  A lot of stores will put promotions on their Facebook page.  Like your favorite store pages, and save!

4) Save on gift cards.  If you like to give gift cards as presents, get them on sale.  A lot of stores, including Costco and Sam's Club, will sell gift cards for less than their face value.  There are also websites like plasticjungle.com and GiftCards.com where you can get gift cards for a discounted price.

5) Know your budget.  By knowing how much you can spend on holiday gifts, you'll cut down on spending.  Charging all your gifts to your credit card won't do you any good.  Figure out how much you can spend and divide it up among the people you need to get gifts for.  If it won't work, don't buy anything.