Gifts on the Cheap
Buy Christmas and birthday gifts throughout the year, don't wait until they are due to be given. Make a list of who you need to buy for and why, how old they are etc. Keep it on a card the size of a credit card .
Walking past Kmart after Christmas I saw a specials stand being set up. I bought four women in the family their birthday gifts and Christmas gifts for this year... $4.
Yes, I paid $4 for 4 marble cheese platters, 4 large boxes of perfumed soaps, bath bombs, creams etc. Normally this would have cost a fortune but it cost me $4 ... the only difficult thing was carrying them all home.
You can get the kids stationary when the school items are being sold at the beginning of the year. ... great for stockings. Kids polo shirts are always cheap at the same time; one year I bought all the grandkids shirts for $2 apiece.
Chocolates after Easter...freeze them until you need them.
After Mother's Day there are always goodies to grab.
After Father's Day there are gifts to grab.
After Halloween also and of course after Christmas.
I spend no more than $3 per person per gift. It is easily done if you allocate for them in the budget and keep the money tucked away in your purse until you see a bargain.
If you are concerned that the gifts are cheap then tart them up with tissue paper and ribbon to make them look expensive, no one need know how much they cost you, after all it's not like you tell everyone how much you paid for every gift do you.
Contributed by L Stapleton
Walking past Kmart after Christmas I saw a specials stand being set up. I bought four women in the family their birthday gifts and Christmas gifts for this year... $4.
Yes, I paid $4 for 4 marble cheese platters, 4 large boxes of perfumed soaps, bath bombs, creams etc. Normally this would have cost a fortune but it cost me $4 ... the only difficult thing was carrying them all home.
You can get the kids stationary when the school items are being sold at the beginning of the year. ... great for stockings. Kids polo shirts are always cheap at the same time; one year I bought all the grandkids shirts for $2 apiece.
Chocolates after Easter...freeze them until you need them.
After Mother's Day there are always goodies to grab.
After Father's Day there are gifts to grab.
After Halloween also and of course after Christmas.
I spend no more than $3 per person per gift. It is easily done if you allocate for them in the budget and keep the money tucked away in your purse until you see a bargain.
If you are concerned that the gifts are cheap then tart them up with tissue paper and ribbon to make them look expensive, no one need know how much they cost you, after all it's not like you tell everyone how much you paid for every gift do you.
Contributed by L Stapleton