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Christmas time is the best time of the year
unfortunately it is also
one of the most expensive times of the year. So if you want to spend your Christmas
season
saving money but still having a lot of fun
here are some tips for you to do that.
There are three main things that are expensive for the Christmas season and those are
Travel Presents and Decorations
for travel if you are traveling by
car a good idea is before you hit the road
check the the air pressure on your tires
If your air pressure is low it can cause drag on the road
and lower the gas mileage.
Check and see if it's around 35 PSI
remember to check the tires for the recommended air pressure range
if you're traveling by car you may need a place to stop
and stay on the way a lot of people like to just sleep
in their car and the best place to do that
is not the rest stop because the rest area
has a high crime rate
so it's not a good place to stop over and rest
even though most people do that and the best place
to stop over is in a church parking lot or
in a parking lot of a 24-hour
retail store they're generally pretty accomodating
If that's not an option for your trip
booking ahead of time on an online discount travel site
can save you big bucks
a third option is a hostel
which is best booked ahead of time because they can fill up pretty fast
A hostel is a dormitory style hotel and they generally cost about twenty dollars
night. Another big expense on the road
is eating and there are different ways
that you can eat cheaply on the road. First off just taking snacks with you
can really tide you over until a meal time Another good idea is to have
to have your biggest meal of the day at lunch time
because lunch prices are less expensive than
dinner prices. And if you're feeling peckish
later on in the evening try restaurants that are known for their
Happy Hours
Groceries are almost always cheaper
than restaurant food so just hit the stores
If you're traveling by airplane booking your ticket
at the right time for the right time really pays off.
If you book your ticket mid-week it is generally
lower airfare than the weekends when most people
are traveling or the start or end of the week
Book your ticket early
because prices tend to creep up closer to Christmas time
However if you travel on Christmas Day
you'll find that nobody else is traveling
so you'll have the whole aisle to yourself to stretch out on
and also your price of your ticket is probably pretty low on Christmas Day
It is also difficult to eat cheaply while you're flying (Especially if you're married to Mr. C)
a lot airlines no longer
offer free food but you have to purchase it on the plane
you can't bring your drinks onto the plane but you can bring meals
and snacks which is a good idea
But if you forgot to bring your snacks
the food on the airplane is generally cheaper
than what you'll find at the airport
Another big expense of the the holiday season is Presents and
But the cheapest present is not to buy anything at all. (Just tell your family FORGET IT!)
There are great ideas out there
anywhere from making a doggie bed out of an old Christmas sweater to
a home-made jar of salsa
Also, don't forget the second-hand stores
where you can find perhaps an old end table that needs a little TLC
to become a very nice gift.
When shopping online, before check-out, don't forget to
do a quick online search for a coupon code
for the business that you're shopping from
Generally the larger retailers will have promo codes
that allow for free shipping
Another good way to save money on presents is the buy less presents
Have your family do a Secret Santa where everybody will draw a name out of a hat and just buy a present for that person
and then set a spending limit on how much you're allowed to spend on this present.
The last big expense at Christmastime
is decorations and there are a lot of different ways
that you can decorate cheap for instance you can
wrap the pictures hanging on the walls to look like Christmas presents
and this decorates your whole house without spending a lot of money
Many stores that sell items for a dollar
or less will generally have
vast supplies of Christmas decorations along with candles
that can give your whole home
a holiday glow. You can also use a lot of
greenery in your decorations to save money.
If you live out in the country just grab a couple
branches of evergreen and
stick it in a vase along with other Christmas decorations
and this will really make your house smell great for the holidays
No matter how much money you spend for Christmas
have a wonderful Christmas and remember the true
meaning of it all which is the birth of Christ.