Holiday Gift Ideas to Save Money

This is the holidays; that time of year that so many people love, a few hate and many just quietly endure. The feelings of gift giving obligation drive many people foolishly deeper into debt just so they can either feel better about giving, or avoid the embarrassment of failing to do so. While the thought may count, unfortunately too many people feel that giving an expensive gift counts so much more.
It only gets worse as you age and more relatives have even more children. The obligatory gift exchanges can push even families on the strongest financial footing toward the brink of bankruptcy if a bit of financial restraint isn't exercised. With that in mind, here are some gift giving ideas to keep you on the path toward getting debt free, while retaining that festive feeling that's so fun about the holidays.
Money Saving Holiday Gift Idea 1 -Don't give so many gifts! Too many people feel that they have to give gifts, and expensive ones at that, to every single member of their family, all their friends, and their associates at work. Think about that for a minute! All that adds up in a hurry. Exercise a bit of gift giving restraint. If you're a guy, ease up. Your friends don't expect gifts from you anyway. Hell, for most of us, if our wives didn't push the issue and remember this sort of thing, we'd forget to give anything to our immediate families for their birthday.
For those of you with young families, just give gifts for the kids. The adults will understand. If they don't, too freakin' bad. That cuts a lot of the pressure to not only give so many gifts, but spend so much time shopping for them. See, you're saving money already, and avoiding those ultra crowded parking lots.
Money Saving Holiday Gift Idea 2 -Timing is everything. Get your gifts throughout the year when ever you find a spectacular price on something. Nothing is written that you have to purchase your gifts in the 2 days immediately preceding the holiday in question. If you're shopping for a Christmas gift, you can buy it during the Labor day sale, if that's when you find it. Buy your Christmas gifts for next year at the after Christmas sale this year.
Money Saving Holiday Gift Idea 3 -Avoid the trendy gifts. Who cares if the hot pink iPOD with flames is the hottest gift this year? You don't have to be the one giving it. Those trendy gifts aren't going to be had for a discount, and you'll have to wait in line to get them. Avoid the stress altogether, and get something a bit less in demand.
Money Saving Holiday Gift Idea 4 -Make your gifts. I posted about this last year, and its still great advice this year. For those of you with more time than money, take a trip back a few hundred years, to a time when the holiday season was less a commercial shot in the arm for business, and more a time for joy and family. The time you save shopping and working to pay for presents will free up some time for you to actually make some gifts for people. No, you're not going to be able to give the cousins that latest game for their X-Box 360, but oh, well.
Money Saving Holiday Gift Idea 5 -Try giving some like a magazine subscription. Like a good version of a gift that keeps on giving, a magazine subscription will bring happiness all year long. On top of that, they'll think of you every time the latest issue shows up. There's a magazine available for every interest under the sun. Even better, they're super inexpensive gifts, with subscriptions being had for under $15.00 for nearly any type of magazine you can think of, if you shop online. To top it off, they'll know you thought about the gift a little bit, because you got something just for them.
Money Saving Holiday Gift Idea 6 -There's a trend no toward environmentally friendly, experience based gifts. While some of these aren't as environmentally friendly as those purveying them would have you believe, it's a great idea nonetheless. Why not reduce all that trash we generate during the various gift giving seasons, such as Mother's Day, Hanukkah, and, of course, Christmas? Remember that if you're giving the gift in the spirit of environmental friendliness, you have to take into account all the fuel you'll bur getting to whatever experience you've selected, and all that it will consume.
Money Saving Holiday Gift Idea 7 -Here's a novel idea. If you can afford it, but those who you're giving the gift to are finding money a bit tight, why not give them something that will save them money? If everybody gave gifts that would save the recipient money, imagine how much of their cash that would free up! Most gas saving products for the car are ineffective, and a total waste of money, but how about a new money saving appliance for the home, or a fuel saving product for the car that actually does work. I'm sure the auto enthusiast on your list would love a new intake or exhaust system for their ride. A bit rich, perhaps? Why not a reusable air filter. They'd save money on gas, and the filter would last a lifetime, saving them about $20 a year on replacement filter costs.
A programmable thermostat sure isn't what most people think of when they think “gift”, but with rising energy costs, you can save a bundle using one. According to Consumer Reports, a programmable t-stat can save well over $100 every year. That's a pretty nice gift, $100 a year.
You can give a membership to a discount store, such as Costco or Sam's Club, as a gift. If the shopper can resist the temptation to buy unnecessary items, they'll save big money on most items, such as food. It may cost you $35, but whom ever you give it to will save far more than that in most cases.
These are just a few money saving gift ideas to use this holiday season. Not just for the holiday season, you can use these for Mother's Day, Father's Day and Birthdays too. Spend less money, pay off your debt, and get that much closer to being debt free.