Thritifilicous Holiday Tips for a Crappy Economy

Posted On December 10, 2009

If you’re finding yourself short on cash this Holiday season, you’re not alone. I think most of us are feeling the pinch, and for me it’s actually leaving a bruise.

Why is it, by the way, that everything seems to break within a month of Christmas, right when you’re scrimping and saving to buy for all of the people on your list? Please tell me I’m not the only one. For me it’s been our kitchen table (thanks to Husband), my “good” pair of glasses, my back-up pair of glasses, and today—my winter coat. That one happened because I thought I should actually wash my coat for once, so I followed the directions, washed it on delicate, dried in with a tennis ball to redistribute the down . . . and now it’s somehow missing the zipper. So I guess for a while I’m going to be cold with blurred vision eating off a lopsided old craft table. *sigh*

Not done shopping? Yeah, me neither. Check out these thriftilicious tips for saving your pennies during the Holidays:

• Print this coupon from Hallmark and save $5 on your purchase.
• Download a whole album of Christmas songs from iTunes for free! Then burn them on a CD for your mom or Great-Aunt Glenda.
• Check Ebates before you purchase anything online. You can earn cash-back from most major stores, and many specialty stores. Right now, Amazon.com doesn’t partner with Ebates, but Ebay does, and right now stores like Old Navy are offering a whopping 10% cash back bonus! And that’s actual money in your pocket.
• Amazon.com has daily Gold Box deals year-round, but right now they’re offering additional “Lightning Deals” on many items for the Holidays. But you need to check back—and act—every day. I could barely sleep last night because I missed out on the Club Penguin Nintendo DS game for $9.99, and now it’s back up to $29!
• Other stores with daily deals are Best Buy, Target, The Disney Store, The Discovery Store, L.L. Bean, Kid Surplus, and 6pm.com. Get great Deals of the Week at Crocs.com.
• Want to order photo gifts? Register at PhotoWorks, SeeHere.com, Shutterfly, Kodak Gallery, Creative Memories Digital Center, and Snapfish. Make sure to include your email address so you can get sale alerts. The photo sites have been offering AMAZING deals the past few weeks (I paid $3.18 for 100 photo cards and got 2 photo books FREE.), so take advantage of them for gifts for moms, dads, or grandparents.
• Subscribe to great money-saving blogs so you don’t miss out on any great deals. My must-haves include Deal Seeking Mom, Money Saving Mom, Housewife Hacks, and The Bargainist.

Hang in there, and don’t forget to keep in mind the true meaning of the season and enjoy yourself!