Welcome to Frugal Fridays where we share money saving tips, discuss living frugally and generally talk about personal finance issues. For the last few weeks, it has been "all holiday shopping all the time" here. I apologize to those of you who really couldn't care less about this either because you have already finished your shopping, or because you don't do any to begin with. However, some of you have not yet even really begun and the pressure is starting to build. I know there are people like this out there. I see one in the bathroom mirror each morning. So once again I thought I would share some tips, pointers and links I've found that might be of help.
Gift Ideas
If you missed it, please go check out Annie Jo's diary on Frugal Gifts. She has some great advice how to give your friends and family a holiday season they'll remember without breaking your budget. One key suggestion is to make a list and check it twice. (Yes, Santa knew what he was doing!) If you have a list of people you want to buy for with budgeted amounts per person, and you update this list as you shop, you will know when to stop buying. Getting started shopping may be hard, but sometimes stopping is even harder.
While you are in the archives, check out last week's Linkapolooza diary and my earlier diary on Shopping Sanity. There were a lot more great ideas posted in the comments of both of those.
Here are some other ideas I've come across recently:
- Last week's Ask A Kossack diary elicited a lot of good gift suggestions.
- I've found a few more lists of New Orleans businesses. If you aren't spending your dollars locally, consider spending them in this region which can really use the help. YatPundit started soliciting suggestions for a list of businesses from NOLA locals this week. Last week I mentioned a diary by hannah from two years ago, but the link she referenced is now broken. Here's a version of if that still exists. Here's another list of New Orleans businesses from 2 years ago.
- Here's an article with more good ideas for kids: What to get the kids? Think outside the toy box
- mole333 had a diary with a suggestion for socially responsible shopping through alonovo.com. There are other good suggestions in the comments section of that diary.
- This is neither frugal nor socially responsible and I can't decide if this is a sign that our society is so decadent the collapse is imminent or if it's the coolest thing I've ever seen and I must have one. It's probably both: an LED light that attaches to your faucet. It not only comes on when you turn on the water, but it changes color when the water gets hot. How cool is that?
Update [2007-12-7 14:8:36 by sarahnity]: I just remembered one more I meant to mention: plf515's diary What are you reading? vol 62: Books to give and get
Making Charity Giving Fun
Lets face it. Most of us have too much stuff already and we don't need another gadget that was picked out by someone who doesn't know our interest or taste. So it really makes sense to take the money you would otherwise use to buy something that will be completely unappreciated, and instead give it to a group or organization that can put it to better use. One big problem with giving someone a donation to a charity in their name rather than an actual gift is that it takes a lot of the fun out of the process. Opening a card that says "a donation has been made in your name to XXX" is a bit of a letdown for many people. Since the last thing most people want to do this season is disappoint their friends and family, charity giving is not an appealing option for many. Here are some ideas to make charity giving fun as well as noble.
- Some charities have recognized this problem, so they give you a concrete representation of what your donation will help fund. I mentioned some of these charities last week (and so did other people in the comments), but I just heard about a new worthy one this week: Make It Right. Brad Pitt is the very visible spokesman for this group that is trying to help rebuild affordable housing in New Orleans. You can go to their website and donate a fixture to go in one of the houses or sponsor the whole house if you are feeling particularly flush this year (only $150,000).
- Kiva is an organization trying to end poverty through person-to-person microfinance lending. You can make a loan to a particular individual to help them start a sustainable business. It's not exactly a charity, because the loan is repaid, so you get your money back. They sell gift certificates that make great gifts. When the loan is repaid, your recipient gets the cash you originally put up. It's a great way of giving a delayed gift to a friend while helping a stranger at the same time.
- For a novel take on gift exchanges, I liked this idea: everyone brings a toy that has some meaning for another person at the party (either it represents something about their job or some other humorous theme) and at the end of the party, all the toys are donated to charity.
- Another new take on the white elephant gift exchange is to have a party where everyone brings a wrapped gift and then they are auctioned off to the partygoers for cash while still wrapped. The cash is then donated to charity.
Decorations and Seasonal Items
If you want to buy any holiday decorations but you haven't yet gotten around to it, you may want to hold off a little bit longer. Those sorts of things often go on sale even before Christmas and they are definitely cheaper after Christmas. Just think how great your house will look next year.
For example, I found 150 foot spools of red, green and white LED rope lights already on sale. Perfect for edging your entire house in energy efficient lights.
After Christmas sales are also a great time to stock up on wrapping paper, ribbons, and boxes. December 26 is the best day to shop, but often you can find deals up through the new year.
Coupons & Deals
Speaking of sales, there are a bunch of websites where you can find coupons and short term deals on the web that I forgot to mention last week:
- Woot sells electronics at a steep discount. They have one deal per day. When it sells out, it's gone.
- Steep and Cheap is a similar deal site that sells outdoor clothing and gear. When their featured item sells out, they put up a new deal, so it can change several times in a day.
- Slick Deals, Deal Catcher and Deal Taker are all sites that try to list some of the hottest deals or coupons available right now from all sorts of on-line (and off-line) merchants. Most of these are very limited time offers, so check often to find the best deals.
- Printable Coupons, Retail Me Not, Fat Wallet and Coupon Cabin are all good spots to find store coupons and internet coupon codes.