How to Save Money on Holiday Presents

Splurging at Christmas time seems to be a holiday tradition for many people. They line up at stores on Black Friday, trying to find several doorbuster deals that will save them a bunch of money, and be an amazing gift at Christmas. But with a bleak economy, a lot of families are cutting back. But what if you could buy the latest gadgets and toys, and still have plenty of money left over? Here's my personal story of how I saved a fortune this Christmas, got my kids the latest electronics, and kept my budget under $135 total for 8 people.

Throughout the year, we use our check card to purchase routine items. Fortunately, we have a points reward system on our card. For each $2 we spend, we get one point. The points vary according to the item you cash them in on, naturally. But as we looked at our balance in November, we realized that three years worth of points were worth over $500 in Best Buy gift cards. These points weren't accumulated by buying anything extraordinary. We simply bought groceries, gas, paid some bills, and various other normal expenses. For doing nothing other than making our normal purchases, we were getting $500 to spend at Christmas!

The Children (free): At Best Buy, we noticed a sale on Wii's for $250 before Thanksgiving. Another man asked a store clerk whether the price was likely to go lower, and the store clerk told him that Nintendo actually bars the price from going any lower than that. Because of this, and because we didn't want to go to Best Buy on Black Friday, we bought it and $250 worth of games. I essentially got one of the hottest gaming consoles and several games for it for free!!

The Children and Husband ($88): On Black Friday, we noticed that Target had a Fly Fusion Pentop Computer for only $29. We have had one of these in the past, and loved it, but it has since been lost. These normally sell for $80, so we knew we were getting a bargain. They also had Guitar Hero World Tour with a guitar controller for $59. This was an exceptional deal, but they were sold out. We realized the next day that Walmart honors competitors ads, so we took it there. A kind salesclerk went and checked in the back for some, and sure enough, it only cost us $59. These normally sell for close to $100! That takes care of my husband's present.

The Sister ($15): Because my mother-in-law cannot spend Christmas with us, we opened gifts at her house on Thanksgiving. One of the presents I received was a $25 gift certificate to Bath and Body Works. I was anxious to use this because I love Bath and Body Works. So, on Black Friday, we went out to the mall to use my gift certificate. They had a special deal going on. If you spend $40, you can get a bag full of full-sized products for only $15. This meant that I would need to spend $55 total, $25 of which would be on a gift certificate. I found a lovely robe and some Wallflower air fresheners, and I got the bag. The bag is going to be a gift to my sister, and it contains over $100 worth of products. Keep in mind that I did not use the gift card towards a purchase for someone else. I still got to enjoy my gift, and save some money on other people's gifts.

The Mom ($25): Later, I realized that I could have gotten an even better deal. I had a coupon in my purse that would allow me to save $10 off a $30 purchase. If I had remembered this at the store, I would have had to spend only $20 after the gift card! Instead, I decided that my mom would like a robe like the one I got, and since it was marked down to only $25, I got that and a fragrance oil for just over $20 after the coupon.

Remember how I told you that I took in the Target ad to Walmart? That is one of the biggest keys to saving money. The clerk who helped us told us that on Black Friday, they had some people bringing in as many as four ads from various stores. As long as it is the same exact product, they will honor the price. The beauty of this is that everyone flocks to stores like Best Buy for their electronics, when they might be able to find the exact same product at Walmart. And because nobody is shopping for that item, it saves some time. You can check out in areas such as electronics or automotive, and be out of the store in less than 30 minutes from start to finish. In fact, at Target, on Black Friday, I checked out in the Jewelry area and it took me less than 20 minutes to get into the store, find what I wanted, check out, and get back into my car.

The Friend ($7): For one of my friends (who is an artist), I made a necklace. I used a coupon for Michaels, and saved 40% off one item. The entire necklace was less than $7, and it's a knockoff of a $1300 necklace I've seen elsewhere.

The In-Laws (free): I still need to shop for my in-laws. Fortunately, I am a member of some other points programs such as Mypoints. They are running a promotion now through the end of the year that gives you $15 off an FTD order when you redeem points. I wrote them regarding their promotion, and you can use the $15 off more than once. Not only will I be able to get my in-laws a gift card to their favorite store, but I can send my mother and my mother-in-law flowers throughout the year.

If you're keeping track, that is $135 on presents for eight people. Each one is getting something they will enjoy, and the kids are getting a cool gaming system. Sure, it takes a little planning, and because the points were saved for three years, I won't be able to do something like this every Christmas. But they don't need a Wii every Christmas either. If you total the amount I saved, it comes to $961 worth of gifts! The trick is to shop at places they love anyway, but find a way to maximize the gifts. If you see a gift basket that contains a large number of bath items, think of two people who will enjoy it, split it up, and rewrap it to make two gifts! Or use various rewards programs to purchase gifts. There is no reason to compromise on the gifts if you can find a smarter way to purchase it.