Fashion. Beauty. Lifestyle

Monday, December 7, 2020

10 WAYS ON HOW TO SAVE MONEY THIS CHRISTMAS 2020!!!!



 

For the past two years my husband and I changed our financial lifestyles. We scaled back on excessive buying, planned and maintained spending limits, kept track of our spending habits and created an financial roadmap to hit our goal to buy our first home! 

Since implementing these changes I started to slowly enjoy living a more minimalist lifestyle. Seeing our debt disappear, money rising in our savings account and realizing all that we accomplished on a tight budget was motivating for both of us. It toke planning and most importantly discipline! 

This Christmas, as excited as we are to celebrate our first Christmas in a new home ever(!) I wanted to make sure we continue our good financial habits and don't go overboard on spending. With Covid cases rising in our state, the future is uncertain and I want to plan for an unexpected circumstances.

So for Christmas this year I have found some ways to save money but also to scale back and still enjoy the holidays my way! The great thing about this post is that you can use these tips all year round guys as well!

 

1. Cut out cable. Ya'll just let it go! Its so expensive. Last year we cut out cable and each month we were spending over $100 and we barely watched TV. Most of us enjoy Netflix more or any other subscription more which are a lot more affordable. We didn't need that crazy bill and annually we saved over $1200.

2. Sell unused personal items online. I have earned some moneyyy from selling a lot of items that I had stored away and wasn't using for years. Believe it or not friends, selling some stuff here and there can slowly add up to a decent amount of cash! All you got to do is snatch a picture of your item, type a description and post it online. I like to use Poshmark for my fashion pieces and FB marketplace for home decor and furniture items.

3. Cancel subscriptions. There are subscriptions services in almost every niche out there. If you aren't vigilant to your checking account purchases you can be spending a lot of money on recurring subscriptions that you either aren't using or weren't aware of. If your like me you signed up for something for a trial period that was FREE and then forget to cancel it before it ended and are paying an annual fee that you totally forget! This has happened to me with Audible. Now I love books and listening to them its such an amazing invention but it get expensive. So now I use Libby. It is an app where I get free e-books and audible books via my local libraries.

4. Make your coffee at home. I have gotten a lot better at making coffee at home and I truly enjoy it so much now. Starbucks alone costs about $5 a latte (more if you need diary free milk!). If you grab coffee everyday for work you could be spending $25 a week = $1300 a year! When I realized on my spending habits tracker how much I spent last year on buying coffee out I decided to use the equipment I had at home and make it here. I pinned tons of recipes on Pinterest to make it fun and try some yummy flavors. In time I got pretty good at making yummy coffee at home.

5. Use cash back apps. I just joined apps like Rakuten this year and I love seeing the cash back I am getting on my purchases. Now you are not going to see a lot of money, unless your spending a lot, which defeats the purpose of the post but some extra cash is always good right?! If you have planned to make an online purchase, open up the app that you chose and select the retailer you are going to make your purchase with. The app will take you to their site and when you finalize your purchase you will earn cash back on a certain percentage. Be on the lookout for cash back bonuses such as 15% or 10%! That amount can earn you up to $10 - $20 a purchase depending on the price. I warn you friends DON'T BUY THINGS JUST TO COLLECT POINTS OR CASH BACK THAT YOU DON'T NEED!

6. DIY Christmas decorations. Get on Pinterest or Instagram and save some ideas of crafts or other thriving influencers that will give you DIY Christmas inspiration. I have found some cute new holiday decor items at places like Savers and Goodwill for cheap and gave them some new life once I repurposed them. There are also some great Youtube craft videos for items found at the Dollar Store!

7. Make homemade gifts. There's something so intimate and special of a homemade gift from someone. There are many ideas out there on Pinterest and Youtube. I love to bake an assortment of cookies and place them in a pretty tin and hand those out for Christmas. It's a delicious treat for everyone to enjoy and think of you.

8. Cut back on expensive Christmas traditions. Some of these type of traditions are: buying multiple trees for our homes,  gift wrapping service, new Christmas outfits, competitive outside light display, overnight shipping. If you can cut back or cut out some of these expensive traditions you will not only have had saved more money but may have given yourself less anxiety and stress.

9. Scale back Christmas cards. Now I love Christmas cards and sending out family photo ones but gosh friends they can add up to expensive. The year we got married I wanted to send out Christmas cards with our wedding photo in them and it added up to almost $70! Yes they were pretty but every year...naw. After that I have opted for buying a pack at either Marshalls or Home Goods and sending a warm note out to close family and friends.

10. Chose time over money. Remember that old saying friends "it's the thought that counts" well you can make it apply here! I think with the year 2020 has been, now more than ever spending intentional quality time with our loved ones is better than gifting a physical gift. You can save money by being intentional with ways that you and your loved ones can be together. More Face time calls, Zoom calls, sending each other plates of food or baked goods. These type of moment carry more weight and joy than a monetary item.

BONUS: Make more money. Now I say this with caution and responsibly with COVID and your health. But if you are able to, make some extra money to cover the costs of Christmas spending. Take on a side hustle. Create a digital product. Jump on working for Lyft, Uber, Doordash, a seasonal job, house sitting, or online virtual teaching. You can offer a service on your neighborhood Facebook community page or appropriate forums or your social media account. 

Take time this holiday season my dear friends and be intentional this holiday season. Focus on joy and not stress. Don't put pressure on yourself to spend if you can't. It's not worth the stress of what comes after doing this. Look forward to simple enjoyments like hot cocoa with a Christmas classic, baking some cookies, listening to music or driving around your city/town and enjoy other homes light displays. De clutter commercialism from our traditions and let's implement healthy ones for our hearts and mental health this year!


Share:

2 comments

  1. This is so insightful & helpful! I’ll be mulling over this one today!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Miss Luz! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post! I truly appreciate it! I hope it helps! If your interested in new post notifications and updates sign up for my newsletter :)
      Have a wonderful week and a blessed filled Christmas!

      Delete

banner
© The Style Brunch | All rights reserved.
Blogger Template Developed by pipdig