Cha-Ching on a Shoestring™

Living Large on a Limited Budget

The Results Are In: Did I Achieve My $50 Christmas?!

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Update: It’s been a few years since this BIG achievement. While it was an exciting accomplishment (even featured on the Philadelphia abc station), I haven’t tried to duplicate it.  Instead, I’ve gathered a community of people who want to “Do Christmas Well” and I’ve created a course called A Stress Free Christmas.  We focus not only on saving money, but also on how to make Christmas more meaningful and simple. Click HERE to learn more!

My $50 Christmas – Did It Work?

So I’m guessing you all have been sitting on the edge of your seats for weeks now wondering if I was going to pull off my $50 Christmas. Right?

Well, you can sit back and and take a deep breath because the moment has finally arrived.

The results are in.

Ladies and Gents, I believe I pulled it off!  I believe that this Christmas will be my first ever $50 Christmas.

{Insert wild applause here!}

{As well as a sigh of relief after last year’s $50 Christmas FAIL.}

I’ve been making my list and checking it twice and crunching my numbers and unless I suddenly remember that I didn’t buy any gifts for my husband or something, I think we actually even came in under budget!  (Which just means that I have a head start on next year’s Cha-Ching Christmas Club!)

I have to say that I think I made some of my family members nervous with this whole crazy idea.  It was my turn to buy a present for my older brother Todd this year.   He had the hardest time giving me a list.  I soon figured out that he just wasn’t sure how he could ask for anything that would fit in such a small budget.  I quickly assured him that he had nothing to worry about.   My Christmas fund was well stocked with money that was set aside from rebates throughout the year.  (I think he breathed a sigh of relief.)

I hope that my ‘crazy idea’ has inspired some of you to make the most of rewards sites and other ‘found money’ throughout the year.  I hope you’ve been encouraged that a little creativity can go a long way in stretching your money.

Most importantly, I hope you don’t feel like you need to have a $50 Christmas.  Success is measured in attainable goals that you set for yourself based on your circumstances and your needs.  If you’ve found creative ways to stretch your budget at all, then I say, “Way to go!”  That’s fantastic.

Now enough celebrating.  I’ve got some wrapping to do!

***

Update:

Some of you wanted to know more specifics on how I accomplished this goal.  I won’t go into every little detail, but I thought I’d give you a general idea of how I made this work for me.  Keep in mind that I had a year of planning behind me!

Swag Bucks: I did about half of my shopping using Amazon gift cards that I earned through Swag Bucks.  (Those of you signed up through my link helped me out with that.  Thanks!)

MyPoints: I used my reward points to get some free Starbucks gift cards!

Pinecone Research: My husband earned $3 per survey and we added that to our stash.

Rue La La, Groupon, Gilt, One Kings Lane: I posted about all of these sites in the past and ways to earn credits for them.  Each one of them came in handy for at least one gift this year. (Unfortunately the free credits are no longer available, but you can still earn credits by referring friends!)

Shop It To Me: I earned some Gap gift cards through their referral program and used them to help buy a gift.

Rebates: The money that I set aside from rebates throughout the year covered those gifts that I needed to use cash on.  This was probably about a quarter of my shopping.

Drugstore shopping: Shopping at CVS and Rite Aid took care of many of my stocking stuffers this year.

Freebies: A few of the freebies that have come in the mail will also find their way into my sons stockings.

Hallmark Coupon: I even took advantage of the $5 and $10 Hallmark coupons that I posted a while back to buy some fun presents for almost FREE.  (Be sure to check your magazines to see if you have any.  I believe they don’t expire until 12/24!)

Dr. Oz Giveaway: Remember that crazy Dr. Oz giveaway that had us all frustrated because the sites kept crashing?  Well, I kept attempting to win that $50 Target gift card by filling in my information over and over for about an hour while I worked on other things at the computer.  I was shocked to later discover that I actually won!  That was a fun surprise and definitely helped with my $50 Christmas!

Shopping the sales: And of course, I shopped the sales to stretch our dollars even further!

And finally (and most importantly), we were cautious in what we spent money on this year.  We have a few quality items that we got for our boys this year, but we didn’t go overboard.

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Welcome 6abc Viewers!

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If you found me by watching my “Christmas on $50?” feature on Saving with 6abc, welcome to Cha-Ching on a Shoestring!  (If you missed the segment, you can watch it online here.)

I know what you are saying: “Christmas on $50?  Scrooge has GOT to be her middle name.”

But I really LOVE Christmas.  I promise!

You see, last Christmas I decided on a whim that I would combine all the money and gift cards that I had earned from various ‘free money’ sites to attempt a $50 Christmas.

It didn’t happen.  Ahem.

But the past is behind me now, and I’ve had a year to plan, save, and strategize.

And I’ve declared THIS the year of the $50 Christmas!

I’m sure you have questions.  Like “HOW?” and “WHAT?” and “WHY?” I will be glad to answer any questions that you have!

First, let me encourage you to check out this series that I’ve put together sharing how to save on Christmas: Cha-Ching! Christmas Club: Seven Days to Christmas Savings.  You can click through each of the posts below or come back and take it a day at a time, if you prefer.

Day 1: Cha-Ching! Christmas Club: Seven Days to Saving
Day 2: Let the Prep Begin!
Day 3: Making the Most of Freebies
Day 4: Show Me the Money!
Day 5: Saving with Surveys
Day 6: Shopping Strategies
Day 7: Let the Planning Begin!

While it’s highly likely that you will spend more than $50 on Christmas this year, I share tips and deals and coupon codes daily that could help you save hundreds of dollars.  Just stick around!

Want to get started right now? Here’s a jump start on filling those Christmas stockings and decking the halls for free.  The following deals are totally FREE offers that I’ve shared with my readers recently:

I also shared earlier this week how to score Toy Story 3 for close to free!  Check it out here.

Besides saving money on Christmas, I  help my readers save money year round by sharing grocery store deals (click on the dropdown menu at the top) and helping my readers play the Drugstore Game.  You can check out how I’ve saved almost $5,000 using coupons in my weekly Cha-Ching Challenge segment.  I’d love to help you do the same!

If you’d like to learn more about me and my family:

  • Read our story about how this blog began here and our ‘How We Got Here’ series here.
  • Learn even more about how we save money here.

Want to stay in the know on all the latest deals? Then why not sign up for my e-mail newsletter (yes–it’s free!) that will be filled with the day’s hottest freebies and deals and LOTS of Christmas savings!  Or if you use a feed reader, subscribe to our RSS feed. You may even want to follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

I hope I can be a resource to help you save thousands of dollars on Christmas and all year round!

Confession Time: How I Spent More than $50 on Christmas

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Well now, I guess it’s confession time.

I’ve been putting this off because…how do I put this?  I didn’t want to tell you.

But you deserve to know.

And I think you will still love me in spite of my failures.  I hope?

If you were a reader of Cha-Ching on a Shoestring before Christmas, you know that I wrote a series entitled, “How I Plan to Spend Less Than $50 on Christmas.”  Pretty bold statement, I know.  But the 5-part series laid out in detail the steps I planned to take to cover all but $50 of my Christmas spending with ‘free money’.

Well, I’ve been crunching numbers, looking at my records, and long story short is…I didn’t make it. Even after Swag Bucks, MyPoints, Pampers rewards, and rebates, I came in at approximately $50 $75 (oops–forgot a present!) over my goal.

And that’s not even counting what Wes spent.  I didn’t take into consideration when I made aforementioned bold statement that my husband would need to spend some of our money as well.

Here’s where things started to get messy:

1) Just as I started to redeem my Swag Bucks for those pretty little $5 Amazon gift cards, a new policy was put into place for redeeming prizes.  You are now only allowed to redeem 5 like prizes per month.  That put a damper on my plan to do a majority of my shopping using Swag Bucks.  Now I know I need to redeem them as I go rather than wait until the last minute.

2) I made that statement without really sitting down and looking at my Christmas list.  Counting immediate and extended family, we buy presents for about 20 people and stocking stuffers for 12.  And that’s even after simplifying through the years!

Here’s what went well:

1) I aimed HIGH.  I didn’t reach my goal, but $125 on gifts for 20 people and stocking stuffers for 12 isn’t so shabby, is it?

2) I set up the Cha-Ching! Christmas Club in order to plan better for next year.  I didn’t get that crazy $50 idea until the fall last year.  With a plan in place, I’m ready to try again for next year!

I also wanted to take this time to clarify something.  I am not intending to make anyone feel like they should only spend $50 on Christmas.  It was a lofty goal and I’m glad I attempted it.  But it didn’t even work for me!

More than anything, I’d simply like to be a resource for you to find new and creative ways to stretch your budget and bring in ‘free money’.

I am excited about this upcoming year. I have some fun ideas up my sleeve that I will be sharing soon about even more crazy lofty goals that we can set together. {Picture me rubbing my hands together with delight…}  I can’t wait!

Now–do you still love me even though I didn’t spend $50 on Christmas?  {I’m holding my breath!}

How I Plan to Spend Less than $50 on Christmas Part 5

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Have you all been holding your breath for my next installment of the “How I Plan to Spend Less than $50 on Christmas” series?  (Check out the rest of the series here.)

If you were, I apologize for taking so long in posting it.  You may breathe now.

Here is where I divulge my biggest secret in saving money this Christmas.  Two words:

Swag Bucks.

There.  I said it.  The secret is out.  Are you happy?

It’s my biggest weapon in my making-the-most-of-my-Christmas-budget arsenal.  I’ve been saving all year for this moment and the time has come to redeem those little suckers.

If you have not hopped on the Swag Bucks bandwagon, you really are missing out.  With a minimal amount of effort, you can begin earning prizes like gift cards, electronics, PayPal cash, and much more.  (Never heard of Swag Bucks?  Click here to learn more.)

My all-time favorite Swag Bucks prize is the $5 Amazon.com gift card for only 45 Swag Bucks.  In my opinion, that is the way to get the most bang for your buck.  There are so many other prizes to choose from as well.  Simply go here and click on prizes to check it out.

Obviously, it takes time to build up enough Swag Bucks to gain  enough points to cut your Christmas budget as I am planning on doing.  I have been saving all year and thanks to so many of you signing up under me, I’ve been able to save up enough to cut our Christmas budget drastically.  I plan on buying most of our gifts on Amazon.  (Can’t think of much we couldn’t find there!)

Here are my favorite tips for getting the most out of joining Swag Bucks:

  1. REFER PEOPLE! Use your  referral link to get people to sign up under you and you will get up to 100 matching Swag Bucks as they earn them.  Here’s a tip: Have your spouse sign up under you!  Then as he or she earns Swag Bucks, you will too!  What a great way to double your money!

  2. If you have not downloaded the new Swag Bucks toolbar yet, you must! They have been extra generous lately with handing out free codes and the new toolbar alerts you when they do so.  The code is usually only good for a few hours, so having the toolbar gives you an edge in making sure you don’t miss it.

  3. Do lots of searching on Fridays. Fridays are  Mega Swag Bucks Day, meaning that Swag Bucks are often awarded in 10, 20, 50, and 100 increments.  Woo hoo!  You better believe I’d do the happy dance if I snagged a 100-spot!  They are handed out randomly and there is no guarantee, but do a few searches today and see what happens!

  4. Follow me on Facebook or Twitter. I am always sure to post when I’ve spotted a free code, so it will be another way to be sure you don’t miss it as well!

Here’s a heads up on redeeming Swag Bucks.  You are now only allowed to redeem up to 5 like prizes per month.  Since the $5 Amazon gift card is a special deal, I recommend redeeming them as you go.  You’ll also want to plan ahead since it takes a couple of weeks for the prizes to post to your account.

So there you have it, folks.  My ultra-secret method of  saving money at Christmas has been spilled.  If you are new to Swag Bucks, why not start now to save them for next Christmas?  With a little bit of time and effort, you will definitely feel the savings at Christmas next year.

Lest you think this saving money at Christmas series is done, have no fear.  I have even more tricks up my sleeve, so stay tuned!

How I Plan to Spend Less Than $50 On Christmas This Year Part 4

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I just finished another step in my spending-less-than-$50-this-Christmas-money-saving strategy. Right from the comfort of my own home. (Click here to check out the rest of this series.) To remind you, I have always had to resort to taking out loans at this time of year, and while I have been so grateful that they are now an option in my times of need (when it comes to short term loans bad credit doesn’t get in the way anymore!) I would like to reach a point where I successfully manage to stay within my budget.

I used some of my MyPoints to snag a gift card. Since most of the people on my Christmas list read this blog faithfully (or so they say!), I hesitate to divulge the exact details of the gift card. I will simply say that I am confident that the recipient of the gift will be delighted. (Although no cash was spent on the purchase of this gift, there is still a lot love in those hard-earned MyPoints.)

I actually can’t believe that I haven’t talked with you all more about MyPoints. I have been a MyPoints member since 2003. Although money-saving blogs were not even a twinkle in their mother’s eye yet, this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship between me and free stuff on the internet.

I have accumulated over 30,000 points over the years, and hope to save up for some home furnishings when we finally buy our own home. However, occasionally I like to dip into my savings for special occasions and Christmas happens to be one of them!

Becoming a MyPoints member is simple:

  • Simply sign up here.

  • You will begin receiving e-mails and will receive 5 points each for ‘reading’ them. (All you really have to do is click on them once you’ve opened the e-mail.)

  • If you decide to accept the offer that is being shared, then you will receive a certain amount of points for doing so.

Here are some of my favorite ways to earn points:

  • Refer friends. You will receive 25 points for each of your friends that sign up through your referral link. You’ll then receive 10% of the eligible points that your friends earn. Click on ‘Easy Points’ then ‘Refer-a-Friend’ to learn more.

  • Shop through MyPoints. Planning on doing some on-line shopping at Christmas time? Check out their extensive list of merchants by clicking on ‘Shop’. You’ll receive a certain amount of points per dollar spent by clicking through the MyPoints site when you do your shopping.

  • Simply be faithful in reading your e-mails! I typically receive 8 -10 e-mails a day from MyPoints. That’s 40-50 points a day just for clicking on my e-mail. Since rewards begin around 1400 points, it should take only about a month or so to earn enough points to claim your first reward!

My gift card should arrive in 2-6 weeks, which gives me plenty of time to order a couple more if I decide to use them as Christmas presents. If you choose to  

” target=”_blank”>sign up today, why not plan on making  

” target=”_blank”>MyPoints your savings center for next Christmas? By then, you should have plenty of points to use!

Stay tuned for even more money-saving Christmas ideas!

How I Plan to Spend Less than $50 on Christmas This Year Part 3

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Ready for my next super secret step in my money-saving strategy for Christmas this year?

(In case you are new around these parts, I am planning on spending no more than $50 on Christmas this year–without being a Scrooge or knitting a single thing.  You can read parts 1 and 2 here and here.)

I just ordered this Christmas gift for my one year old, Lincoln. Besides being cute, it also teaches the names of shapes and colors and has a multi-lingual switch that allows baby to hear the shapes in English, Spanish, and French.  And my favorite part?  It has an on/off volume control.

pelican

Guess how much I paid?  Mmhmm.  You guessed it.  Not a cent.

I ordered it through the Pampers Gifts to Grow program. Been entering codes faithfully for many years now and finally decided it was high time to use them!  (My Mother in Law deserves props for entering codes for me as well!)

Are you a Pampers Gifts to Grow member? If so, do you have enough points to grab a Christmas gift for someone this year?  There are a wide range of gifts available for baby or for others (i.e. an Applebee’s gift card).

I am crossing my fingers that this will come in time, however.  It says it should arrive in 8-10 weeks.  So, I guess there’s a chance that it will be a birthday present instead!

If you aren’t a Pampers Gifts to Grow member yet and still have a baby in diapers, you can sign up here.  Then start saving up your points for next Christmas!  (Look for codes on packages of diapers and wipes.)

The following codes should get you some free points to start off with:

GRATUIT89102009

THRIFTYMOMMYGTG

STARTEARNINGNOW

Plus, did you know that through 11/05/2009, you will get triple points for codes found on Pampers Wipes?  If you have some Pampers wipes, be sure to add your codes before Thursday!

How I Plan To Spend Less Than $50 on Christmas This Year Part 2

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I’ve really enjoyed your responses to my first  “How I Plan To Spend Less Than $50 on Christmas This Year” post.  (Whew—should’ve picked a shorter title.  I might need a coffee break and I’m only getting started!)

It also helped me realize that I should clear a few things up:

1)  I plan on spending no more than $50 after all of my other resources have been used up. (You will have to stick around for the next few weeks to find out what those resources are!)  I do have many resources that will allow me to purchase much more than $50 worth of gifts.  We simply won’t feel it in our budget.

So have no fear, Mom.  You will still receive a lovely gift.

2)  I. don’t. do. crafts.

It’s not that I don’t wish I was craftier.  I see what my friend Beckie does with her hands on a daily basis and I sigh a little sigh of jealousy.  It’s just not my thing.

So, part 2 of the plan is NOT that I will be knitting enough scarves and sweaters and socks to clothe all those on my Christmas list.  Sorry if that’s a disappointment.

3)  Much of my plan involves some long-term thinking.  So, it will most likely not be feasible for you to implement it for this Christmas.  But, I hope that I can encourage you to put my strategy into place now for next Christmas. I know you will be glad you did.

That being said, I will share one aspect of the plan that you can begin right now.

I spent a good chunk of time yesterday filling out my rebate information that has been piling up.  I posted about these rebates here, here, here, and here.  I think many people discount rebates as a ploy that companies use to get you to buy their product.  However, when used properly, they are a great way to save money!

When all is said and done, I will have spent less than $10 out of pocket for the above rebates which are around $40-$50 in value.  My plan is to put that money directly into my Christmas fund.  (Or if it’s a product, I can use it as a gift!)

Do you want to get started on this idea?  Here are some rebates that are currently available.   (As well as some great ideas on how to use them!)

Did I miss any?

How I Plan to Spend Less than $50 on Christmas This Year

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Hold on now– before you start calling me Scrooge, let’s get one thing straight.  I LOVE Christmas! We celebrate big with all the trimmings and holiday parties and family gatherings and the chestnuts roasting on the open fire and what-not.

So, when I tell you that I am planning on spending less than $50 on Christmas this year, please know that I do NOT plan on being any less generous than years before.  I simply plan on being much savvier in my joy-to-the-world-holly-jolly-ness!

We have always set a budget in year’s past and have been pretty faithful about sticking to it.  But one thing I have not done well is to plan ahead.  I have often found myself doing  the whole dreaded last minute shopping thing and the last minute wrapping thing–and let me tell you, that is not the best way to be strategic in  saving money.  (It also doesn’t help with the holiday spirit either!)

I am working hard this year to think ahead and be prepared, in an effort to:

1) be careful with how we spend our money and

2) give ourselves room to take delight in the meaning of Christmas and the joy of that time of year.

Believe me.  It is not typical of me to be thinking about Christmas this early.  But then, I’m hoping this won’t be just a ‘typical’ Christmas!  (Besides, I promise not to hang any decorations or watch “White Christmas” until after Thanksgiving!)

Over the next few weeks, I plan on sharing my money-saving strategy with you.  In doing so, I hope that I can be a resource for you as you prepare for this Christmas season and others to come.

But first, I’d love to hear from you!

I want to know:  How do YOU make the most of the Christmas season?  What steps do you take to fight off the craziness that so often makes up the month of December?  How do you plan on making time this year to enjoy and celebrate the meaning of Christmas?

Leave a comment and let us know.  That way, we can all be a resource for each other!