This post is sponsored by Lexington Law Firm.
Having children can be an expensive hobby. I kid, of course, parenthood isn’t a hobby like collecting baseball cards or whatever decoupage is, but the price tag associated with transforming from a person to a parent is no joke.
One of the reasons having kids is so expensive is Christmas, and all of the gifts Santa will put under the tree and stuff into stockings hung from the chimney with care.
When you are on a budget, and maybe already working to repair your credit, the end of the year can be extra stressful with holiday entertaining and holiday shopping looming on the horizon. Here are four simple ways to get all your holiday shopping done on a budget.
4 Simple Ways To Do Your Holiday Shopping On A Budget
I bought my Once Upon A Time teenager this Emma Swan lookalike faux red leather jacket a month before the holidays!
Start Your Holiday Shopping Early
By spreading out the cost of your holiday shopping over a longer period of time, you minimize the financial burden on you, your bank account, and your credit cards. While kids’ wish lists evolve over the course of the year, there are many things that can be purchased during the spring and summer. In lieu of buying loads of gifts early and finding clever hiding spots in your home, you can save money throughout the year with a kind of Christmas club savings account or by stashing $5 and $10 bills away into an envelope in your underwear drawer! Not disciplined enough to have all that cash on hand for months upon months, buy yourself gift cards when you have extra money and save those cards to go holiday shopping in November and December when your little ones’ lists for Santa have been finalized!
We bought our globe-collecting tween this one while shopping for fall decorations at Kirkland’s!
Use Ebates to Do Your Holiday Shopping
You seriously need to sign up for an Ebates account, like, right now. By shopping online at your favorite websites like Amazon, Target, Forever 21, Jet, Best Buy, Express, Hot Topic, Macy’s, and Lands End, Verizon Fios, plus travel sites like Hertz, Holiday Inn Express, Travelocity — but first clicking through Ebates! — you will get 3%, 5%, or even 10% cash back bonuses that are sometimes doubled and tripled, plus exclusive % off savings on the brands and products you and your kids want for the holidays. Sign up for Ebates with my affiliate link and get an extra $10 back when you spend your first $25! This is a genius, smart shopper way to do your holiday shopping on a budget!
Look Out For 2-for-1 Holiday Gifts!
I totally stumbled into this genius way to get 2 gifts for the price of 1! Simply subscribe to email newsletters from (and/or LIKE the Facebook pages of) your kids’ favorite brands, personalities, and book publishers to get advanced notice of super special offers. You may just get presented with 2-for-1 holiday gift deals for book lovers from publishers like Macmillan like I did! This year alone, I scored an autographed Leslie Odom Jr 8×10 photo, an amazing Marissa Meyer signed lithograph, and most recently, a super cool exclusive poster for pre-ordering her new book, Archenemies (a deal that is still on until Nov 5!). By staying tuned in to the authors, toy makers, and personalities your kids love, you can get an extra special free gift to give and blow your kids minds while still getting money-saving Amazon or Target preorder deals on the books, toys, etc that they want from Santa this Christmas.
Become a Coupon Code Master
In addition to clicking through Ebates, you also should do a quick and easy Google search for “[insert name of store here] coupon code” before making any purchase online, during the holidays or any day! Often, you will find a code within a couple of clicks that will save you money, get you free shipping, or maybe get you a healthy % off + free shipping! It takes just a moment but becoming a coupon code master will help you do your holiday shopping on a budget.
Sing that sweet coupon code song!
Because we all use our credit cards online so much these days, it is important to have a company like Lexington Law looking out for us. Check out their OnTrack service that monitors credit reports, FICO score, and protects against identify theft and do your holiday shopping on a budget and without worry.
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