Sticking to a budget at Christmas is tough! I know because shopping for 8 kids (and now 9 grandchildren) has been quite the  struggle I’ve dealt with!

So I am sharing some of my best tips!

It all starts with making a list.

A few years ago Toys R Us had a sale on games. I think they were on sale for $5.  Simon was one of the games, but there were a few others as well. There were also coupons out for buying the games which brought the price down to about $3 each. It was a great deal since these games were between $12-$15 each at Walmart at the time.  So I ran to Walmart since I wanted to do price match. I ended up buying at least 3 of each of the 4 games. It was a frugal impulse. Then later I was like who am I going to give this to? I did donate a few and gifted a few to family members, but I still have a couple of those games in their boxes now.

So make sure you create a list of who you want to buy gifts for and a few different ideas for each so you aren’t stuck with some gifts that don’t fit anyone on your list.

Now once you have this list you can decide what you want (or can afford) for your budget to be for each person. Then total it up and see if that total will fit into what money you have set back. If that is too much money go back and see where you can trim the budget for each gift. Keep this with you so you can write down what you end up buying and how much you spent so you can stay on target.

Now it is time to start finding the deals! Some of the Black Friday deals have already been leaked and you can find them online in different places. Some stores already have their sales posted on their company’s website like Walmart and Target. Go over the ads looking for the items you want to buy that are in your budget. This coming Sunday paper and the following Wednesday edition will probably be full of paper ads of sales for the Holiday shopping. You will need this paper ad to price match at Walmart and Target.

Don’t forget to check out social media pages for stores in your area. Sometimes they offer some deals only through their app, or Facebook page. Online stores such as Amazon also runs great deals!

Check the regular prices now before the sale! One sale tactic that stores use is to say an item is on sale when really it isn’t! When you see things like “limited time only” or get % off when you buy 3 of one item your brain thinks I have to get it before they are gone. Double check first what the price was a week earlier. Is it really a good deal?

Some stores offer gift cards at a discounted rate. When you are unsure what to get someone on your list a gift card may be a great option especially if you can get it for less than the card is worth. Of course make sure there are no requirements in using that card. Some companies make you wait to use the card until the day after Christmas or it expires in a week. Read the fine print for these hidden rules.