A Debt Free Christmas – the Gift that Keeps on Giving

In the past, how many times have you blasted through your budget in order to splurge on Christmas gifts? In this past, this has been an area where I and other members of my family have been financially irresponsible, but no more! A few years ago, we were forced to take a hard look on our holiday spending when I lost my job. Out of necessity, I learned many financial lessons. Including the importance of not going in debt or otherwise excessively spending during the holidays.

A few years ago, Yahoo! asked myself and several other contributors to write about our holiday spending. The following is the article that I wrote and that they originally published. Many of these lessons remain sound, so I am republishing the article here with the hope that it will help others see that a debt free Christmas is truly the best gift that anyone can give themselves and their family.

According to a recent American Research Group, Inc. poll, Americans plan to increase their holiday spending this year with many planning to spend an average of $854 on gifts. Many will put this and other holiday expenditures on interest bearing credit cards, which will lead to increased costs. Over the years I've found that the best gift that I can give myself and my family is a debt free Christmas.

As a parent with four children, and many nieces, nephews and other important persons in my life, I've used a variety of strategies to hold down costs at Christmas. While in the past I may have splurged a little to put a much desired toy or gadget on credit that is simply not a possibility this year with the loss of my job, medical bills, and other health issues. How then am I to celebrate the season without being a Grinch?

Start Saving Early

Normally we begin saving our lose change in January to save for Christmas gifts. Our bank offers a savings program that automatically "rounds up" one's debit card transactions to whole dollars, depositing the difference into a savings account, and by the time November or December rolled around, we would have a sizeable amount to fund our Christmas purchases. This really is a great way to save in a relatively pain free way to pay for Christmas Gifts and it is my preferred way to save. This year our finances have been so strained that these funds have been used to pay day to day bills. Still, I am determined that we be able to exchange gifts in our immediate family and follow through with our annual commitment to fill a shoebox with gifts for a needy child.

Investigate True Interests

My children are older, in college, and in no real need of new gadgets or toys. In finding gifts for my children and my husband, I have been paying more attention to what things truly interest them. Most of us are avid readers, and while books can be a great gift, they are also expensive. After discovering some of their favorite authors, I've been looking for gently used copies of their books. Even many popular authors have earlier works that fans may have not read, and it can be a treat for a fan to say they have read all of the books by a certain author. Smaller, private booksellers as well as online sources such as Half and Amazon are great sources to find deals on pre-owned books.

Earn and Redeem Points and Use Coupons, Discounts and Sales

Others in my family enjoy gourmet coffees and teas, specialty bath products, or chocolate goodies. I've been redeeming points that I have earned from regular purchases for gift cards at some of their favorite retailers and combining them with the sale prices these retailers are offering this holiday. Many bank cards offer points for purchases, and there are other companies that offer points for reading emails or participating in limited free trials of services. My favorites are the rewards points program at Kmart and Sears as well as the MyPoints program, but there are many other points programs available that you can find by doing a simple online search for "earning points."

Homemade Shows Love and Can be Frugal

I've also been using common items and ingredients I have around the house to make some simple homemade beauty and bath products. You can find detailed instructions on how to make many different types of facial scrubs, beauty bars, bath melts, bath salts, lotions and more by doing a simple search online. You can find decorative containers at a local discount store or save some from your favorite products through the year. I make several of each type and put them in a simple basket from a discount store and garnish with a bow. I also make treat bags and fill them with homemade cookies and breads and cakes for my older relatives that I bake ahead and freeze earlier in the month.

Using these strategies, my Christmas shopping is done for my immediate family, nieces, nephews, in-laws, aunts and uncles. I have spent around $50 in cash; the rest has been gift cards and time. As little as we get to see each other through the year, I hope that the focus this Christmas will be on time rather than money.

What about your family? Are you going to splurge and go in debt or spend your savings on lavish presents for your loved ones this season? Why not share with our readers in the comments section below your shopping plans, and strategies that you follow to keep on track with your budget during the holidays. 

Photo Credit: Alan Cleaver

How We Stay Warm and Save Money on Electric Bills in the Winter

So far, this winter is shaping up to be a brutally cold one, with record low temperatures being recorded all across the country. I have baseboard electric heat, so it's really difficult to afford our electric bill in the winter.

It' not just the high costs for electricity in the winter that make me dislike this season. In my part of the country its cold and the snowfall and ice make it treacherous to go to work or the grocery store. I know there are far colder locations in the U.S. in the winter, and I plan to stay as far away from them as possible.

I use the following strategies to keep warm and save money on the electric bill in the winter.

Winterize the Home in the Fall

I have written about my fall maintenance list in an earlier article, but performing some simple tasks in the fall help to lower my electric bill in the winter. Each fall I replace cracked window panes and caulk where the sash meets the trim on all of the windows. Install storm windows or plastic film covers over the windows to keep in the heat. The materials for these repairs are normally less than $20. 

I have baseboard heat, one of the most expensive and least efficient ways of heating one's home. I make certain to remove the panel on the front of the register and thoroughly dust the heating element so that it is clean before the season starts so it works more efficiently.

Years ago, I also made window and door "socks" out of scrap material and sand and I layer these on the window sills and place them along the bottom of the doors to keep the cool air out and the warm air in.

Cut Down the Thermostat and Dress in Layers

Many people have probably heard this one before, but it is really not necessary to crank up the heat at the sign of the first chill in fall. I put a timer on our hot water heater years ago and swapped out the incandescent bulbs to CFLs and cut my electric bill by a third the first year of this change.

I also turn off the heat and close the doors to rooms that are unused. Heating a smaller space reduces the electric bill. Many people have probably heard of these tips, but I do have a few more to resist turning up the heat when the temperatures drop.

Make Insulated Covers for Windows and Doors

While I do have curtains that I put up in the winter that have a special backing that works as insulation, one year I made an additional insulated hanging that I use over all of my windows and doors in the winter. You can use basically any heavy, thick material, but I used some fuzzy old blankets that had faded over time. I sewed a seam at the top so I could thread them through a spring tension rod, and I hung them at the top of the windows, and used a regular curtain rod to hang them over the entrance ways into my home. This extra covering reduced my electric bill by an additional 10% the winter that I first made them. 

When I first made them, I didn't like the idea of mismatched patterns being viewed from outside my house, so I got some acrylic paint, some fabric paint fixative and a foam brush from the crafts section of my local department store. For under $5 I was able to paint over the designs and these insulating cloths resemble the cream colored sheers that I normally hang under my curtains, so no one notices the difference.

Dress in Layers, Including the Bed, and Make a Hot Toddy

To me, if it's cold, it just makes sense to dress warmly when inside, in layers, and apply this strategy when dressing the beds. I put several layers of blankets on our beds, and top them off with a down comforter. At night, we take empty two liter soda bottles that we have saved, and fill them with very hot water and seal the cap tightly. Save some empty bread bags to slide these bottles in and tie, in case the cap works loose in the night and starts to leak. I place 3 or four of these soda bottles under the covers at our feet just before we turn in and it knocks off the chill and keeps us warm throughout the night even when it's freezing outside.

I hope my readers found these tips useful. If you have other strategies to stay warm and save money on the electric bill in the winter why not share them with us in the comments section below?
This personal finance article written by Lyn Brooks original appeared on Yahoo! Finance and the Yahoo Contributor Network.
Photo Credit: Sandra Forbes "Sage" on Flickr