The Christmas countdown is on!
There are just over 50 days until Christmas; your shopping list is long, but your wallet is short on cash. Thanks to my friends at FreeShipping.org for coming up with some clever ways to come up with Christmas cash. From the tried and true frugal tactics (only shop with coupons, cut down on the eating out) to some lesser known but equally effective methods (adjust your auto insurance deductibles, create a coin stash,
eliminate your land line). With just over 50 days to go, you'd be surprised how much cash you can stash!
1. Buy Gifts With Coupons or Coupon Codes
Stores like Kohl's and Macy's regularly have coupons in the newspaper, and don't you dare shop online without using a coupon code! Begin all your online shopping at Ebates.com – you’ll find coupon codes and earn cash back on every purchase!
2. Eat Cheap
Everytime you think about eating out, don't! Put that money aside for gift-giving! A family of 4 will easily spend $40 on dinner out, so eliminate just 5 dinners out and save $200!
3. Eat From Your Pantry
Skip grocery shopping this week and clean out your pantry, refrigerator & freezer! You'll be surprised how many meals you can create, and you'll be thrilled to have an organized pantry!
4. Do the Daily Coupon Dance
If you're not checking out daily deals from sites like Groupon, it's time to start! They offer a daily deal that's usually 50% – 90% off!
5. Pay Cash
6. Create a Coin Stash
Yes…the tried and true coin jar! The coins will really add up when you start paying cash for everything.
7. Eliminate Your Land Line
You'll save an average of $50 in two months by turning off that unused land line.
8. Adjust Your Tax Withholding
The average tax refund this year was nearly $2,900. If you received a refund, you were paying Uncle Sam to stash your cash — interest free. File a new W-4 form with your employer's human resources department and start receiving more money on your next paycheck. To find out how many withholdings you should claim, use Kiplinger's online calculator.
9. Auction Your Extra Stuff on eBay
10. Sell Your Stuff on Craigslist
11. Buy Discounted Gift Cards
Have you ever bought a discounted gift card? It's instant savings for everyday purchases or for gifts. Try CardCash.com for a huge selection of discounted gift cards like JC Penny 15% off or American Eagle 20% off…WOW! Why didn't I know about this before?
12. Pick Up Holiday Cleaning Jobs
Cleaning houses is a quick picker-upper for short-term cash. It requires no specialized training, just a lot of elbow grease and a good work ethic. Check Craigslist under “services” and “household” for holiday cleaning jobs. If you earn $20 per hour, the Christmas cash will add up fast!
13. Be a Short-Term Lab Rat
There are facilities throughout the country that offer paid compensation in exchange for your participation in clinical pharmaceutical research studies. If you're lucky (or maybe not), you'll find a short-term study that you can easily complete. For full details, read an expert's advice on Asylum.com.
14. Make a List
Plan ahead and you'll save your money! We all know that making a list before you go grocery shopping is a great money saving strategy. Why not make a Christmas shopping list and budget and stick to it!
15. Increase You Auto Insurance Deductibles
In just two months you can save an average of $100 by increasing the deductibles on comprehensive and collision coverage from $500 to $1,000, or even $2,500. This will reduce your monthly premium by roughly 15 percent. You'll want to drive more carefully during this period, of course.
16. Free Shipping Day
Mark your calendar, Free Shipping Day is December 17th! Check out FreeShippingDay.com for a list of the over 1000 participating merchants! Christmas Eve delivery is guaranteed.
17. Consignment Shops
Clean out your closets and let a consignment store sell your gently used clothing, children's clothing, baby items and toys. Consignment stores will give you a percentage when the item sells, typically around 40%.
18. Trade Out Babysitting
Holiday parties = high babysitting bills. Learn how to start a Parents Night Out group and enjoy FREE BABYSITTING.
19. Win McDonald's Monopoly Game
Granted, the odds are very, very, very long, but Bargaineering.com explains a few tips to help you win anywhere from a lowly $5 to nearly $1 million in cash prizes.
20. Take Advantage of Free Stuff…
Use HeyitsFree.net, Sweetfreestuff.com, and Mr.Freestuff to find hundreds of freebies ranging from toothpaste to granola bar sample.
The Christmas countdown is on! Please leave a comment to let me know your favorite ways of saving Christmas cash.
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Image courtesy of Darren Robertson / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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In full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links to help support The Budget Diet girl!
Your suggestions are terrific! We have 11 kids + other family and friends so it gets a bit tricky. Usually I start shopping the first of the year, but we’ve been tied up in getting a new house built so not much has been done to prepare for the Christmas shopping. Your list has given me some good ideas! Thanks!
Great suggestions! I’m going to check out a few of those freebie sites now. Maybe they can help cut down the Target bill!
These are some really great tips.
Especially the cleaning one. I’m sure a lot of people are at their busiest this time around – maybe pop in to a small business who doesn’t have the large funds to donate to a cleaning organization.
I love the idea of a baby sitter’s club…you watch my kiddo this day, I’ll watch yours on that one, and so on and so forth. Great tips!
Love this list!!! We skip eating out often and just implemented the “clean out the pantry/fridge week” plan a few weeks ago. Amazing! The fridge and pantry stay more organized AND our food budget goes down. Double win!
I’m not very big on coupons as it is not really popular here but I try to cut down by eating more at home during these festive season.
Kristl, my dear girl, you have done it again. This is SUCH an awesome list and I would recommend every one of them (save for the pharmaceutical study and I definitely would NOT like that one!)! You are so awesome with your ideas!