Last updated on November 4th, 2020 at 07:33 pm
Christmas does not have to be expensive. Christmas does not have to put you into debt. Christmas can fit in any budget big or small. My thrifty Christmas tips can help you do just that.
Today I thought I would share my top thrifty Christmas posts with you, and when you add the tips in all of them together you get over 100 thrifty Christmas tips in 7 areas of a Christmas budget.
Make sure to read to the end of the post where I share 3 ways to fatten and stretch your Christmas fund. These three tips are the key tools thrifty ninja Christmas shoppers use to add dollars to their Christmas accounts and stack discounts on discounts on nearly every purchase they make during the holiday season.
100 Plus Ways Thrifty People Save Money On Christmas
1. DIY Gifts On A Budget
How To Give Acts Of Service Gifts People Will Really Use: No More Coupon Books
22 Gifts You Can Make Using Ingredients Found In Your Kitchen
Love to knit? Here are 2 knitting patterns that use a skein of yarn or less that would make great gifts…
Simple To Knit Fingerless Gloves
DIY Knitted Christmas Tree Ornament
2. Decorations
10 Ways Thrifty People Decorate For Christmas
How to Create Christmas Decor Using Duplo Blocks (large Lego)
3. Stocking Stuffers
10 Fabulous Stocking Stuffers (Ages 10 to 18) That Won’t Break The Bank
Over 150 Inexpensive Stocking Stuffers For The Entire Family
36 Affordable Stocking Stuffers That A College Guy Really Wants
4. Inexpensive Gift Ideas
10 Last Minute Gift Basket Ideas Under $10
25 Inexpensive Christmas Gift Ideas That Mom Will Love: Ideas from $0 on up
Creative Ways To Give A Digital Gift Card As A Gift: Plus Places To Earn Gift Cards
5. Low-Cost Christmas Shopping Tips
Where To Find Free & Low-Cost Christmas Gifts That Rock
5 Steps Thrifty Online Christmas Shoppers Use To Save Money
10 Ways Thrifty People Prepare For The Christmas Shopping Season
6. How To Have A No Cost Or Low-Cost Christmas
Christmas On A Zero Budget: 10 Ways To Celebrate Christmas When You Have No Money To Spend
How To Plan A Christmas To Remember On A Super Tight Budget
Inexpensive Christmas Activities & Date Ideas
25 Christmas Traditions For Families On Tight Budgets
10 Christmas Date Ideas That Cost Zero
10 Thrifty Christmas Gatherings: Entertaining On A Budget
Do you need money for Christmas? Use this method to earn cash for Christmas in minutes a day.
3 Ways To Fatten And Stretch Your Christmas Fund
(Links in this post are affiliate links. I will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking those links. See my disclosure page for more information)
1. Resell Your Clutter
Take a day to go through your home from top to bottom grabbing all the items you are not currently using –these things are clutter. You can use my guide on gathering items for a yard sale to help you dig deep for as many items to sell as possible. You don’t have to have a yard sale –there are a tonne of other profitable reselling options available.
People often think they don’t have much of value but they are usually wrong. I think it is fair to say most families have $500 to $1000 worth of stuff they are not using lying around their home. That is a nice Christmas fund right there.
2. Start Working Point Reward Programs That Have Low Payout Minimums
Now is not the time to spend hours on surveys for a company that doesn’t pay out until you reach $30. Instead, work at programs like Swagbucks where gift cards in general start at 500 Swagbucks for a $5 card. Here is a tutorial I wrote sharing 10 simple ways to earn gift cards with Swagbucks.
A program I really like for fast payouts is InstaGC. Their e-gift card codes are delivered instantly the second you hit redeem. The payout is set at a minimum 0f 100 points for a $1 gift card. Here is a tutorial I wrote explaining how to get started using InstaGC to earn gift cards.
Another program with low cashouts is PrizeRebel where you can grab a $2 Amazon gift card code for just 200 points and you will receive it in around 24 hours. There are several ways to earn with PrizeRebel including some very quick and simple point-earning actions. Here is a tutorial I wrote that explains how to best use PrizeRebel to earn gift cards.
If you have a magazine lover in your family join Recycle Bank and do their environmentally-friendly themed point-earning tasks. Magazines subscriptions start at 160 points. There are some activities that come out worth 150 points so it won’t take long to earn enough for a magazine subscription for a loved one. There is a wide variety of magazines–including those for fitness lovers, home decor lovers, celebrity news lovers, and more.
If you want to surprise a book lover young or old with a new book, then join My Reader Rewards Club and earn points towards paperbacks that are mailed to your door for free.
3. Make Sure You Use These 2 Secret Weapons To Lower Prices Further
Never shop without first seeing if you could get cash back on your purchases.
Cash Back Sites
If you frequently shop online, get the Rakuten browser tool, which makes it easy to start earning cashback at all qualifying websites. Rakuten does have a $5 cash out threshold and it does only give out payments each quarter, but it is well worth using. I have received as much as $15 in cashback from one order. Go here to sign-up for Rakuten.
Mr. Rebates doesn’t seem to get mentioned by many other bloggers and I am not sure why, as it is a great program. The simplest way to use Mr. Rebates is to download the browser tool so that it will alert you if Mr. Rebates offers a cashback to the website you are about to buy something from. You do need to have a balance of $10 to be able to cash out, but once you do, you can cash out at any time. Go here to sign up for Mr.Rebates.
There are things I like about TopCashBack, such as the fact that there is no cash-out threshold, and you get a bonus for cashing out for certain gift cards. However, there are also a few things I don’t like, such as no browser tool, meaning you have to remember to go to the TopCashBack site first and then the site you are shopping at, and it sometimes takes weeks for your cashback to become available. However, I feel like TopCashBacks no cash-out threshold makes it an excellent fit for those that don’t shop online often, so I still like mentioning it to my readers. Go here to sign up for TopCashBack.
Learn which cashback company helped me make $75 while still in my pajamas one Black Friday.
Promo Codes
My favorite way to find promo codes is through the Honey browser tool
Honey has saved me so much money! On average, it saves me $10 for each website that it can find me a promo code for. And the best part is that it is instant savings–I don’t have to wait for cashback with Honey (unless you use the Honey Points cash back area, which I don’t tend to). Honey has a browser app too, which makes applying a promo code a breeze; in fact, at a lot of sites Honey can enter the promo code for you with just one click. Go here to sign up for Honey.
Want to learn more about Honey? Read my tutorial.
I hope these tips help you stay within your Christmas budget.
Available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon–get your copy here!
I shared all over! Great list of ways to save!
Thanks!
I love these ideas! I am totally for DIY gifts and decorations. I was able to transform my home using dollar store or discount items. Who said you have to break the bank around this time of year??
Very true there is no need to go into debt over Christmas.
Love this post..love DIY, love things on budget. I really enjoy this.
Thank you for all your pins! They are very useful!
Your welcome, thanks for taking the time to let me know it means a lot to me.