Tips for Keeping Costs Down During the Holidays

The economy is struggling and so are many of us. Home values are down in many parts of the country, credit has tightened and unemployment is rising.

So what do we do about it? Make sure you have a good grasp of your budget and expenses, as compared to your income. If you need to cut back on spending, it can be tough. Especially as we approach the holiday season. But there are some things you can do to keep your spending down before, during and after the holidays.

Here are Six Tips For Keeping Home Costs Down During the Holiday:

1) Keep your thermostat as low as possible – in a typical home, just lowering your thermostat a few degrees may save you hundreds of dollars each heating season.

2) Turn cool stuff in your house into gifts – we aren’t talking about giving old nasty items away, but if you’ve got something vintage and cool that you no longer need or use, someone on your gift list might just like it. And it won’t cost you anything out of your pocket.

3) Make your gifts at home – again, use supplies from around your house to make nice gifts for your friends and loved ones. Maybe you’re a great cook. Whip up some bacon/chocolate chip cookies that will have them begging for more. Or if you’re an artist, design a cool piece for their home.

4) Eat in and keep your money in your pocket – if you’re like many Americans, you eat out a lot. It might be fun for your taste buds and stomach, but it’s hard on your pocketbook. Cook at home, buy foods in bulk and the cash will grow in your wallet. And eating at home is almost always more healthy.

5) Shop online – yes, that may seem like some pretty self-serving advice from an online mortgage company, but shopping online can really same you some cash. No one is advocating not supporting local businesses and shops. Especially in today’s tight economy, supporting your community is vital. But you’ll probably be surprised to find that even your local favorite merchants are online and may be offering discounts and deals for online purchases. And you can always take a deal you find online to your local store and see if they’ll match it. Even if they have to offer you a discount, they’ll likely be willing to meet you somewhere between "no deal and deal" to get the sale.

6) Refinance and GREATLY lower your mortgage payment – the #1 way to keep cash in your pocket and have more for the things that you really care about is to take advantage of mortgage rates that are dropping to near historic lows. Just about any mortgage professional out there can do a quick analysis of your current mortgage and find out if refinancing makes sense. It probably does right now. And if you think you are paying too much for your mortgage and have a rate that is over 6%, you probably are. And an added bonus for anyone who refinances this month is that you’ll likely get to skip a mortgage payment in January, giving you badly needed money to help with the crunch of holiday bills.
These are just a few tips and ideas that can help with your finances during this holiday season. Some may make sense for you, some may not. And you may even come up with some other or better ways to cut costs and still have a wonderful holiday season with your family, friends and loved ones.

We’d love it if you have any other ideas to share. Just use the comment link below to tell us about your ideas. Your email address will never appear here to protect you from receiving unwanted email.