Money Saving Tip: Buy Gifts Ahead & Stock a Gift Closet

One of my biggest money saving tips is to buy gifts ahead of time & keep them until you need them. Anytime I'm out & I run across an amazing deal on something I think would make a great gift for someone I know, I go ahead & purchase it & store it in my gift closet.

If you notice in the picture above, there are a lot of toys pictured...in January, Target runs a 75% off after Christmas toy clearance, where this year, I was able to purchase approximately $300 worth of toys for only $50!

To maximize my savings, I went ahead & purchased toys for the 11 children I would need to give gifts for throughout the year (birthdays & Christmas).  Considering we usually spend about $10 per gift per child for their birthday & then for Christmas, that would normally total at least $220! So just because I thought ahead & bought ahead, I automatically saved $170!


My Tips for Making the Most of Your "Gift Budget":

• Make a list of all of the people you know you will need to buy gifts for & how many gifts you will need for them throughout the year.
• Try to have an idea about what each person likes, what sizes they wear, toys they already have, etc
• Never wait until the last minute to buy someone a gift if you can help it...buying ahead gives you the time to look for a true deal. In my opinion, having to buy something at the last minute almost ensures you will be forced to pay a higher price.
• Budget a certain amount each month for "Gifts", even if you don't specifically have someone to buy for that month...it can be a very small amount. If you don't use it that month, roll it over to the next month so when you finally do run across something to buy, you'll already have the money to do so.
• If you have children that you buy gifts for throughout the year, go ahead & set aside money after Christmas to use in January at Target's 75% off toy clearance (this year, the toys were first marked at 50% off & when they finally moved down to 75% off, most of the toys were gone after only 1 day-I'll post it on the blog as soon as I know my stores are running it so you can get there quickly).
• Also consider this: If your children are likely to attend another child's birthday party, go ahead & buy a few 'gender neutral' toys that you can grab in the case of an unexpected birthday party invite.
• Always check the clearance racks at your local store...I've found a number of cute clothes on the children's clearance racks at Target (marked down to $1-$3) & have stored them in our gift closet to add to someone's gift bag (always consider the age the child will be when you give the gift & what season it will be, too)
• Think outside the box when it comes to where to shop: don't forget about discount retailers such as TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, etc when you need a gift...I have found a number of great household gifts for the adults in our life, as well as a lot of great toys & books for children, all less than $10.
• Don't forget about the items you buy & store in your gift closet!!  One of the easiest ways to waste money is to forget you've already purchased a gift for someone & buy another one in it's place...so before you rush out to buy a last minute gift, take a second & rummage through your stockpile & make sure you didn't already grab something to give.

If you have any other ideas on how to save money when buying gifts, email them to me & I can add them to the list!!

Enjoy!!