It always is advisable to save some money each month or week. Money which will be used later in the year to buy gifts. Many people however find it hard to save money thusly or even if they do, they might be tempted to spend it. The solution I think would be to buy a gift card [with no expiration date] each month. It could be a $50 gift card at the end of the month. By the end of the year you'll have $600 to spend on gifts. Thoughts?
Well that is certainly one way to self-manage your spending habits. I think that it is a really good example of knowing yourself and weak sports and planning ahead to avoid them. Nobody knows us better than ourselves, so when it comes to saving money we should know the sorts of tricks and loopholes that will help us along the way. If this works, then by all means use it.
Oh that is a good idea! I would have never thought of that. That is super clever. I personally just put money in my savings and I don't touch it until I need to buy gifts. Maybe put it in a piggy bank (I have a darth vader head) that I put loose change and dollars in. Put it in the closet, somewhere out of sight and out of mind?
That is a great idea. I have a direct withdrawal on my bank account that every week takes out $50 to put into a savings account. I don't even notice it and by the end of the year I find I have enough to pay for Christmas presents and birthday presents. I never even notice the money is gone. I also like to save my change in a large container. At the end of the year of when we are going on vacation I count it all up and cash it in. Some years I have over $300 in change. In Canada we have loonies and toonies which are our $1.00 and $2.00 and they can add up quickly in your piggy bank.
I do this too but with a less fixed amount and a pace that's more comfortable with me. I work from home so my payment and salary varies but I have a rough average of how much I make regularly, and it always make sure to save some percentage of it for emergencies and gifts. I also keep in mind all the occasions throughout the year I'd have to spend for especially the biggest one right at the end which is of course Christmas. By that time I usually have a good amount saved up to cover all the gifts I have to give and it's all thanks to starting the savings as early as I can.
That is indeed a good idea if you want to save on money, since gift cards are a good alternative if you don't really know what to get for a certain person. As for me I just prefer giving out cash though, it's more convenient.
I'm not sure about the gift cards idea. It locks you into buying the items at the store that you have the gift card for. What if you have 50 gift cards for Wal-Mart and then you find an amazing Cyber Monday deal on Amazon?
I usually save up any gift vouchers I get to use on gifts throughout the year. I also like to set aside money regularly for gifts. If I see something that I think could make a good gift and it's on sale however I'll buy it at the time, and then take the money out of what I had been saving to pay for it. Another way I like to save money for gifts is to keep any loyalty points I get to use for gifts at a later time. This way I don't have to use cash.
