How to Pay for Christmas without Killing Your Budget

Navigating the holiday season without wreaking havoc on your finances can be a challenging task. If you are wondering how to pay for Christmas without killing your budget these tips will help create a magical Christmas without overspending.

Christmas is a magical time of year. It’s also freaking expensive.

You aren’t going to enjoy the holiday season if you are worried about paying for everything. Fortunately, we have some tips to help you get through the holiday season without killing your budget.

As a family of 8, Christmas can get expensive really fast at my house. We used to go overboard during the holidays and then we’d end up paying for it (literally and mentally) in January.

The temporary fun of giving lots of gifts wasn’t worth the emotional toll it took when we had all those expenses hanging over our heads.

When we started making changes and started celebrating without killing our holiday budget, we all started enjoying the holidays a lot more and my kids developed an attitude of gratitude that I hadn’t seen in them before. We sometimes even opt for experience gifts so that we can spend money on one larger thing rather than have the budget destroyed by lots of smaller purchases.

If you are worried about how you are going to pay for Christmas, we have some tips that will help your budget (and your stress level).

Start with a Budget.

The first place to start if you don’t want to break your budget is to actually have a budget. You can’t stay on track if you don’t know what your goal is. Download our free holiday planner (which includes a budget worksheet) to help yourself stay on track.

You can spread your budget over the course of several months (which is ideal) or set a budget for holiday gifts during December.

If you want a digital budget option, we recommend You Need a Budget (YNAB). You can sign up for a free trial here to try it out for yourself.

Don’t have money to pay for Christmas? Find Ways to Earn More Money

Sometimes no amount of budgeting will make Christmas affordable. If you really can’t afford Christmas, you do have options to make more money during the holiday season.

It may feel overwhelming to add a side hustle when you are already spread thin but there are quite a few options to get some extra cash. There are lots of ways to earn extra income without committing to a regular job. I love how many different ways there are to earn money from home or on a flexible schedule. It just takes a bit of creativity.

These work at home jobs you can do during nap time would also work for extra holiday cash.

Quick Ways to Earn Money for Christmas

• Look for a way to earn quick income with one of these short-term side-gigs
• Make extra money driving for Uber
• Rent out your spare bedroom
• Deliver holiday packages
• Babysit while your neighbors do their holiday shopping
• Pick up a few freelance writing gigs
• Work a seasonal retail job during the holiday season
• Sell things you aren’t using anymore. Most of us can probably fund our entire Christmas by sorting through things we don’t need anymore and selling them for cash. Find out how I made over $700 just by decluttering my home one weekend. You can sell things via eBay, Facebook groups, a garage sale, or through a local consignment shop.
• Resell the hot holiday toys. If you can find those hot holiday toys that are hard to come by, you can make a few extra bucks selling them on eBay, on local Facebook sale groups, or on Amazon FBA. People are often willing to pay 3-4 times what you can buy a toy for (if you can find them) so this can be a great way to pay for your own holiday gifts. I know there are some people who frown on this, but it really is just an issue of supply and demand. If you are struggling to pay for Christmas, it can be a great way to come up with extra funds fast.
• Petsit through Rover
• Become an Instacart shopper
• Work as a door dash driver in your spare time

Check out these 20 Side Gigs You Can do to Earn Money for Christmas. 

Start shopping early.

This single tip has been key to more affordable holidays for us. I sometimes start my Christmas shopping as early as July.

I used to start right after Christmas so I could take advantage of after-holiday sales but I found that it was hard to guess what my kids might be interested in a full year out. Starting during the summertime seems to be a good compromise. I still have plenty of time to hunt for deals but the holiday isn’t so far away that I’m going to risk buying things that my kids won’t be interested in by the time Christmas comes around.

Shopping early not only lets you spread the cost of Christmas over a period of months rather than weeks, but it also allows you to take the time you need to find a great deal.

One of my sons has had an expensive gift on his wish list for a while now (I’d share what it is but my teens know how to read blogs now . . . ). The gift was well out of our budget, but knowing how much he wanted it, we saved and looked for a deal. Since we had several months to look, we were able to find a deal that let us purchase the gift wholesale. That never would have been possible if we had waited until a few weeks before Christmas to shop.

Take Advantage of Cash Back Sites.

I do a lot of my shopping online, mostly because I hate the crowds, but also because it lets me shop around and find the best deals. One way I maximize my savings is by taking advantage of cash-back sites. These sites will pay you cash after you make a purchase through their link. Often it is only a small percentage but that sure can add up when you are shopping for the holidays.

Ebates is one of my favorites. I’ve used them for years. They have a great selection of stores to choose from. Nine times out of ten, when I’m shopping online I can typically get something back from them. They also offer coupons for many stores so it’s definitely worth checking before you shop.

Right now they’ll even give you $10 just for signing up. That’s a great way to jump-start your holiday budget!

If you want a cash-back site that will give you a bit more for each purchase, FreeShipping.com is a great option. I tried them out for the first time this holiday season and I’m already pleasantly surprised by how big my rebate check is going to be. This site is a paid option, but if you do any amount of online shopping during the holiday season, you’ll easily earn back what you pay.

Earn Gift Cards

There are quite a few ways to earn gift cards for doing simple tasks. One of my favorites is Swagbucks. It’s pretty simple to earn Amazon gift cards (or another retailer of your choosing) just by using their search engine, watching videos, using coupons, etc. They have so many opportunities to earn Swagbucks that some years I pay for our entire Christmas using gift cards I’ve earned through Swagbucks. Sign up here for free and get started.

You can also earn gift cards through survey sites, using your credit card rewards, and more. Take advantage of all those small earning opportunities. They really do add up.

Make Homemade Gifts.

If you are creative (or know how to follow instructions you find on Pinterest), you can save a ton of money by making your own gifts. These gifts are often more meaningful and you can come up with some great options that people will love.

Homemade gift ideas:

• Frame this Printable “I Love you Because . . . ” sign to give to your spouse or a child who needs a bit of extra love. This looks super cute on a table in your entry way or in your bedroom where you will see it each day.
• Make your own bath salts and store it in a decorated mason jar. You can customize these with any essential oil that you like and include a little note.
• Make microwavable heat packs. Choose several styles of fabric and you could make these as stocking stuffers, neighbor gifts, teacher gifts, or more.
• Frame this printable wall art for a work-at-home mom. These look fantastic and are such a great addition to a home office.
• Make a chalkboard serving tray. This looks like a high-end gift but you can make it for only $15.

Keep gift exchanges under control.

Buying gifts for your own family can get expensive but gift exchanges for your friends and extended family can really get out of control fast.

If you exchange gifts as an extended family, consider drawing names out of a hat so that everyone only has to buy one gift. You can give holiday cards with personalized messages to the family members you aren’t buying a gift for. Your holiday budget (and your stress level) will thank you for it.

If you buy for friends and neighbors, consider making homemade treats or making something yourself. Don’t be afraid to opt for a simple note of appreciation for your wider circle of friends. Use this free printable neighbor gift paired with some affordable chapstick for a great neighbor gift on a budget.

Offer service Instead of Gifts

Gifts are about more than what you spend. Consider what you can DO for the people you love rather than what you can BUY for them. When I was a kid, the gift of choice for parents and grandparents was coupon books filled with simple acts of service.

You can make things simple by using this editable Christmas coupon template. Think of things that would make the person you are giving the coupon book loved.

My husband loves having a clean car so when we gave him a coupon book one year we included things like washing his car, vacuuming the inside, etc.

Give a Christmas IOU

Do you have a child who wants one of the hot holiday toys? Not only can those be hard to find but, when you do find them they can be pricey. After the holidays when demand drops, the price drops right along with it. Consider gifting an IOU saying you’ll purchase the gift after the holiday season.

This tip only works for older kids (younger kids simply aren’t that patient).

Shop Black Friday

The idea of shopping on Black Friday can make you cringe but if you are looking to save a few bucks, you can find some great bargains. Focus on your larger ticket items for Black Friday. That is where you will see the most savings.

I’m fortunate that my husband loves to venture out on Black Friday so I just let him do the dirty work there. We started with a list of our high-ticket items and were able to save over $100 on a few of them. Black Friday lets us get more expensive gifts while still staying within our budget.

Want some tips for surviving Black Friday? My husband is a veteran Black Friday deal shopper and has some great tips for you here.

Shop with Discount gift cards

Shopping with discount gift cards can be a great way to stretch your budget. There are several ways to find discount gift cards. During the holiday season, many retailers will offer discounted gift cards directly. We often buy discounted restaurant gift cards to use as stocking stuffers but you can find retail cards as well to use to purchase gifts.

Several sites offer discount gift cards. Often people will be gifted cards for stores they don’t shop at and they sell them at a discount just to get some cash out of them. Check out sites like Gift Card Granny and Cardpool.

You can find discount gift cards on sites like eBay, FB sale sites and Craigslist. Be cautious here though. With gift cards, there is always the risk that the balance isn’t what people say it is. One of our favorite places to get discount gift cards is Costco because they are trustworthy.

It’s so easy to fall into the trap of spending more than you can afford during the holiday season but it’s worth taking the time to budget, find ways to earn the extra money you need and save on the things you buy. This eliminates so much stress during the holiday season.

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