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and if you do break out the cards, do not charge more than you can pay off the next month. By paying with cash you avoid having to pay interest on your purchases. This also helps you to control your spending. Before shopping you can decide how much you intend to spend and only carry that much cash with you. Because you have a limited amount of cash to spend, you will be more likely to stick to your shopping list and not splurge on extra items and impulse buys.

Buying Online. Many stores offer holiday discounts when you buy online, and usually you can avoid paying a sales tax. Of course before ordering you should be aware of how much it costs to ship an item, and try to order from sites that offer discounted or free holiday shipping. You can also save money by ordering items from individuals on Ebay, Amazon, or other sites.

Make a gift list and budget. Before doing any holiday shopping make a list of everyone you have to buy for. Beside each name write how much you intend to spend on that person, and stick to this amount. Create categories for groups like siblings, co-workers, and friends, and decide on a specific amount to spend on them. This way you will spend about the same amount on each person in these groups. You will save money, and nobody will feel shortchanged.

Gift Exchange Games. You may also want to suggest drawing names, playing dirty Santa, or doing some other type of gift exchange with family members or other groups. This way everyone gets a present, but everyone also avoids the hassle and saves money.

Do not overspend on the kids. Try to avoid going overboard when buying for kids. This day and age kids get so much throughout the entire year, and on Christmas they get gifts from Santa, parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Whether buying for your own kids or for a niece or nephew, decide ahead of time how much you are going to spend, and do not go over this amount. Also, keep this in mind: How many presents did the kids play with for more than a month last Christmas? New toys come out all the time, and kids are constantly changing their preferences and wanting the next big thing, and as much as we would all like to give them everything, kids should not get every single thing they want.

Buy throughout the year. The best way to save money is to spread out your holiday shopping all year. Throughout the year, keep an eye out for sales and clearance items. It does not really matter whether you buy something in December or June. If you find a good

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