Are You Ready for Christmas?

Christmas is coming, ready or not!

As of today, August 23, 2013, there are 120 days until Christmas (http://www.xmasclock.com/). Yeah, I hear some of you sighing. I understand. The gift giving holidays can cause a lot of stress, especially if you have a tight budget.

Take heart though, because I am here to help. Don't you feel better already?

I just received an email from Amazon.com informing me that my textbook trade-in was accepted (woo-hoo!) and that I now had $10.44 in my gift card balance. This is pretty sweet because I bought the textbook for my son two semesters ago for about $18.00 somewhere on Amazon. This is a way better return than selling to a bookstore on campus.

Now, don't get me wrong. I know I am not going to be buying all the gifts I need to buy for my kids, son-in-law, almost son-in-law, "adopted" son, son's girlfriend, grandsons, etc. with a $10.44 gift card balance at Amazon.com. But, I am empowered to look a little more closely at textbooks I see at the thrift stores I frequent to see if Amazon wants them for their trade-in program.

There is my first suggestion for getting some funds together to use on Christmas gift purchases. Keep reading...

Here is another idea- join Listia. It is a very cool site that allows you to give and get free stuff. Go to my link to get started-https://www.listia.com/signup/4087751 (just fyi, I do earn credits when you sign up under me and you earn credits for signing up too!). Last year, my husband earned enough credits to allow us to Christmas shop for some very nice items for our children. So, go ahead and give it a try, it doesn't cost you anything but giving away some stuff you need to get out of your house anyway!

Recycle or redeem cans and bottles- this idea is an oldie but a goodie, especially if you live in a state where certain cans and bottles have a deposit. I just read a blog post on Money Saving Mom where a reader's son earned $161.00 collecting and redeeming cans and bottles. I don't live in a state where these items have a deposit but aluminum is paying well so I am collecting and selling  aluminum cans. Two 13-gallon trash bags full of crushed cans netted me $7.00 recently. Again, I am not going to retire on soda can money but $7.00 here and there is very helpful when saved over the course of a year.

Save change-if you clean out the change that accumulates in your purse or off the top of your dresser, you will be surprised at how much you end up with at the end of a month.

What if you ended up with $50.00 each month through all your ventures? Would $500.00 be helpful for Christmas? We are such frugal shoppers that $500.00 goes pretty far for us.

It is a really good feeling to be able to buy our gifts without putting them on a credit card. We don't cringe when January approaches because we fear the arrival of the credit card bills incurred for holiday gift giving.

How do you pay for Christmas gift giving? What money raising ideas do you have?