Mrs. Pinchpenny’s Guide to Surviving the Holidays on a Budget
With the holidays around the corner, people are starting to think about ways that they can get gifts for their families and friends without breaking the budget (assuming that they even have a holiday spending budget in the first place!).
A recent survey from COUPON CABIN of almost 2,500 people asked how people were going to afford the holidays this year, and this is some of what they found:
- 21% of those surveyed plan to get a 2nd job. 12% of those surveyed already had one.
- 77% were planning on using cash, check, or debit card to pay for holiday expenses. 36% were planning on using credit cards
- 10% were taking advantage of the resurgence of layaway plans at various retailers to purchase their gifts
- 3% said that they were going to borrow money from family and friends
Some of the money-saving tips that were shared by those taking the survey were:
- Saving up coins throughout the year, and cashing those is as extra “found money”. Web Watch can confirm that a good coin-saving practice can bring in about $100-$200 a year in change, depending on how good you are in holding onto those quarters.
- Made Christmas origami and homemade cookies as a gift
- Use newspaper for wrapping paper
- Buy gifts and wrapping paper throughout the year at clearance/after-holiday sales. Nothing beats planning ahead and stocking up the “gift closet”.