Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Birthday Presents Without Breaking the Bank

Now that my son is in preschool, we are getting more and more birthday party invitations. This could easily break the bank but I'm trying to be smart about it so today I'm going to share a few tips on how to buy presents without going broke.

Set a budget. It is way too easy to try to "keep up with the Joneses" so avoid this by setting a budget early. For kids gifts, I try not to spend more than $10.

Shop sales. The end of the season is the best time to buy gifts. You can pick up items for next to nothing and it will look like you spent way more than you really did. Right now, Target has clearance toys 75% off.

Swagbucks. An easy way to shop for free is with Swagbucks. You earn bucks for performing online searches and can redeem these for gifts. My favorite ones are for Amazon or Starbucks gift cards. I always keep a decent amount of Amazon in my account so I can snag a good deal for free when I see it. Starbucks cards make great gifts for adults too and they will never know you didn't pay a penny for it.

Reuse gift bags. I save all the decent gift bags from every occasion and reuse them. Very rarely do I need to buy wrapping or gift bags due to this. If I do need a bag though, the dollar store has some great ones.

Designate a gift area.
It does little good to buy ahead and reuse items if you cannot find it when you need it. I have an area in a basement closet where I keep gifts and wrapping.

Feel free to share other ideas on how you save on buying gifts.

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