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Forty-count box of Christmas cards: $15.99
Book of stamps: $8.80
Three-pack wrapping paper: $5.99
One hundred yards of blue snowflakes ribbon: $9.99
That’s $40.77, not including tax, and we haven’t even gotten to actual gifts.
The highest unemployment rate since 1983 and no let-up with the bills can make it hard to get into the holiday spirit. Sure, there are sales to shop and coupons to cut, but sometimes shoppers need something more than that to save a buck or $50.
Anita Wickersham is an associate professor of business and accounting at Huntington University, and David Misner is the executive director at A Hope Center, which helps pregnant girls with a variety of things, including budgeting. Here are some of their suggestions to save money this cash-strapped holiday season.
•Go the food route. Bake cookies, give homemade trail mix, make a fancy dinner. Wickersham says she has made cookies for neighbors before, and last year, her newly married niece and her husband made a snack mix for their family members. "It was a nice thing to do, and they were on a budget. It’s a real personal sort of gift," she says.
•Getting crafty isn’t just for the finger-painting first-grader. Knit a scarf, paint a picture or get into woodworking. Last year, Misner made his wife a sewing box for Christmas. She needed a new one, and he couldn’t find what he wanted. She loved it. A few years ago, his youngest son made a jewelry box for his girlfriend, and that turned into a fun father-son event. "It’s a great way for parents to work with their kids," he says. "It’s a great interaction."
•Wickersham suggests giving a framed family photo to family members. "It’s more personal, and it comes from your heart instead of your wallet," she says.
•Spend wisely, Misner says. That could mean staying within your means or even, instead of spending money on more non-necessities for the person who has everything, make a charitable donation in that person’s name.
•Consider non-material gifts. "Maybe it would work better with close family or friends if you could just spend an evening together or decide to work at a homeless shelter," Wickersham says. "Maybe we don’t need to give gifts to each other. Maybe we need to give gifts to people less fortunate than we are."
•Then there’s the idea that Wickersham calls "a little less tasteful" – re-gifting. "Sometimes we do get gifts that we don’t really know what to do with, but maybe someone else can use them," she says.
Like you’re ever going to use that Homer Simpson Chia Pet. But hey, doesn’t Uncle Pete love "The Simpsons"?
