How to Cut Cost for Next Year's Holiday Gifts

I was sitting here thinking about the holidays and how it seems that we have to spend a lot of money for gifts. I have always been a firm believe
that the holidays are about spending time with family and friends. With so many Americans out of work and struggling to put food on their table, buying Holiday gifts can make you feel blue at times.

So I wanted to share with you all of my money saving secrets that I use since for one I am a stay at home mom and two I am always thinking outside the box and finding creative ways to get items I need for free (or close to free). What I like to do to make a little side money to help save up for times like this is resell my baby clothes. I use consignment sales and I usually make out pretty good.

Another resource I use to save up for the holidays is using my Swagbucks points. I had did a video on how I get my baby products for my kids but this program can work for anyone. I like Swagbucks because I get the $5 Amazon gift cards when I reach 450 points and they have the best online deals. So what I do is I plan out my gift card use. What I mean by that is I will save $10-$15 Amazon gift cards and buy a big box of wipes that will last my two kids about 3-4 months. In the meantime I start saving for birthday gifts or even save up for holiday gifts. If you are consistent with using them you can easily earn about $20 or more a month of gift cards. I have seen alot of bloggers use Swagbucks and they have enough to buy a few holiday gifts. Last year I had $135 worth of Amazon Gift Cards and bought a Leapfrog system, a DVD, and a remote control helicopter for my husband for free.

Another way that I like to save for holidays throughout the year as a stay at home mom is taking advantage of the Rite Aid Single Check Rebate (SCR). If you are not familiar with SCR it is a program where you purchase a participating item and you submit your receipt online or my mail (I prefer online) and you recieve one single check at the end of the month. Really easy. But I take that check and save it. It may be a $2, $5 or even a $10 check but it adds up over time!

Lastly I also like Ebates. Ebates is a nice cash back program that is free to join and if you are like me and like to shop online Ebates is the way to go. What I also like about them is that they have the top name retailers online like Old Navy, JCPenny, Gap and they have discount codes too. So you can go thru Ebates to purchase items and get a little cash back. I have to be honest my mom got me into Ebates because I wasn't a believe
at first but when I saw her check of $238 I was hooked.

So those are some ways I help my household save money. I wanted to share my ideas with my lovely readers because I hope that some of my saving practices will help someone else!