by Susan Klatz Beal

Created on: November 10, 2009   Last Updated: November 27, 2010

The Christmas holidays can be a stressful time for people. When you are in a situation, as most people are these days, where you have to be more careful about spending money, that can create even more stress. Although you want to give your friends and loved ones, gifts you hope they will like, you must remember that your survival should always come first.

The key to saving money on your gift giving is to plan things out very carefully. Make sure you have a list of recipients, and think about what you intend to purchase before you go out to actually buy it.

*Establish a gift budget -

In order to avoid overspending or making unnecessary impulse purchases, create a budget for your holiday shopping. From there, you can decide how much you want to spend on a gift for each of your recipients.

*Consolidate gifts -

If you have a large family, consider consolidating gifts. Rather than giving a different gift to every family member, give a gift to families. If you have a brother who has several children, you might want to consider purchasing a gift for the entire family. Gifts like gourmet foods are always appreciated, and you are less likely to have to worry about whether or not someone will like it.

*Shop online -

Online shopping is easy to do and there are great benefits. You can shop at any time of the day or night, you can easily compare the price of the same merchandise from place to place and you can often get coupon or other discounts for shopping online. What's more, you won't have to pay tax, for a small fee, you can have your gift wrapped and you can also have it shipped directly to the recipient. That will save you the tax, the cost of having to buy gift wrapping supplies and the cost of shipping.

*Shop at outlets -

Outlets are a great way to get high quality merchandise without having to pay the full price. Outlet stores regularly feature overstock merchandise or seconds, which means that the product is slightly damaged or imperfect, and that it couldn't be sold at full price in the regular store. Outlet stores also have huge sales that offer fabulous deals, and on occasion, they will have a coupon you can use. When you use a coupon on a product that is already reduced in price, you can save substantially.

*Clearance sales -

Clearance sales can be another source of significant savings. Depending on when you shop at a clearance sale, you may be able to get as little as 25% off or as much as 75% or more off. Before you purchase something at a clearance sale,

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