Here are lots of tips and ideas to save money and encourage respect for the environment.

Give presents

1. Get a notebook. Carry a small notebook with you wherever you go. Use it to keep a list of gift ideas for people. When you’re ready to shop, look at the notebook and plan your trips based on where you can get the most items. Cross out the items when you receive them and write down in pencil the items you bought for people when you’re out, so you don’t “overbuy” for people.

2. New, old and home. Consider giving each person a small new item, something homemade, and something gently used. Our society is centered on the “buy new, wear it once, throw it away” mentality, and this will encourage handing in of new and used items.

3. Sources of used items. Check at consignment stores, Craigslist, thrift stores, eBay, and freecycle. For used books, try local used book stores and alibris.com. Visit paperbackswap.com to trade your books for other people’s books; you only pay the postage. Most bookworms don’t care if a book has been used before. Using this method, you can get a ton of books for your reader for the price of a new paperback or two, maybe even entire collections from your favorite authors.

4. Homemade items. If you are handy, do crafts. If you photograph, make an album or frame some prints or make mugs, puzzles or other items from sites like Winklflash. If you sew, consider making cloth shopping bags or gift bags out of leftover fabric or old clothes. If you’re handy around the house, hand out a few certificates for your skill (carpentry, computers, whatever). If you cook, make preserves, canned applesauce, make cookie mixes, cookies, popcorn balls, sandwich mix, or other snacks. If you hunt, make some jerky or sausage. If you brew, make some nice 6-packs or neatly labeled bottles of wine. Everyone has skills… turn them into gifts! If you’re younger, make up and give coupons for free babysitting, snow removal, lawn mowing, or “work hours” from home.

5. Green gifts. Buy gardening supplies and seeds and a gift card to the garden center. Buy compact fluorescent (CF) bulbs and help install them. Get them a programmable thermostat. An electric blanket keeps loved ones warm and allows them to turn down the thermostat at night. Buy an energy audit for someone. Smart power strips are great for stopping “ghost power” from things like chargers and computer peripherals. Buy someone a bike, new or used, if you could and wanted to ride it.

6. Gifts to support frugality. Get them a subscription to Dave Ramsey’s My Total Money Makeover or tickets to one of his shows. During the holidays (Thanksgiving), Dave puts his best-selling books on sale. He bought some cookbooks for someone who eats out a lot and wants to save money. Give them cooking lessons or coupons to teach them how to cook. Get them some new or used books on financial management or self-improvement. Book suggestions would be “The Total Money Makeover,” “The Millionare Next Door,” and “The Complete Tightwad Gazette.” Buy board games, outdoor gear/toys, playing cards, and a Hoyle card rule book and teach them old-fashioned “real” poker.

7. Savings on wrapping. Every year $2.3 trillion is spent on packaging and labels, and it’s all thrown away. Recycle paper bags and Sunday comics for wrapping, or make cloth gift bags of various sizes from scraps or clothing “bought by the pound” from yard sales or thrift. These bags can double as shopping bags and cleaning cloths in a pinch. Buy the reusable shopping bags and put your gifts in them. Pay a child five cents each to make cute labels out of construction paper and some stamps. Save a few large cardboard shipping or shopping boxes and stuff them with crumpled up newspaper or those pesky peanuts, then bury a small gift inside. Someone can use the big box to take their loot home or recycle it.

Amusing

The holiday season sees a lot of parties and guests stopping by. Here are some ideas to keep the fun going without spending a ton of money.

1. Bring a Plate. When you have a party, ask everyone to bring a plate. Also have them carpool with others to save gas and make parking easier. Give a special gift to the carpool driver/designated driver.

2. Inexpensive alcohol. If you’re serving alcohol, larger containers are usually more affordable per unit, as long as they don’t spoil. Some box and carafe wines are ideal for parties. Strongly flavored drinks can discourage excessive consumption. Have a pot of hot (spiced) cider on the stove to sweeten the air and give people something interesting and non-alcoholic to drink.

3. Say cheese. You can get a canister full of fairly reasonable crackers at warehouse stores. The same goes for cheese spreads and large blocks of cheese. These are always good, inexpensive snacks to grab or serve. Make your own vegetable and shrimp platters to save some money.

4. Cookie party! Invite some friends over for an all-day cookie party. If everyone uses the ingredients, they can get the larger sizes and save on cost. You can also split expensive ingredients like nuts and candied fruits. You can make jar mixes (cookies, coffee/drinks, etc.) at the same time. Pick up some funky tins whenever you see them, and you’ll have some real homemade goodies.

5. Look at expensive items. Meats, seafood, produce, dairy, and nuts tend to be expensive when entertaining. I don’t suggest serving just bread, but plan your menu around less expensive meats and items and you can save big while still entertaining in style. For example, save some chicken from your chicken dinner and make a buffalo chicken dip.

6. Keep the freezer and pantry stocked. You never know when people will arrive or run out of time to cook. Having frozen snacks and appetizers available, and bags of chips, salsa, and cheese dip available means you always have a snack for that unexpected guest or when the family can’t cook a dinner.

home life

The holidays are stressful times. Here are some ideas to save money, go green, and lay a good foundation for the coming year.

1. Plan and pre-cook. Take a day over the Thanksgiving holiday and set aside a couple of hours to plan your next month: what foods you want to prepare ahead of time, when you want to shop, what “milestones” you want to meet, like getting to the post office by December 5th. Print this roadmap and post it on your fridge. Every Sunday afternoon, clear the list and make an action plan for that week.

2. Reuse and Trade. When you take out your decorations, separate the ones you no longer use. Children who have moved may really like them as a gift.

3. Dim the lights. If you set up exterior lights, put them on a timer and/or reduce the number of lights. This will save on electricity. Put your tree lights on a timer too.

4. Eat first. When you go shopping, eat at home first. You will be more settled and not encouraged to eat in a restaurant.

5. Additional Cash. As you clean up before the holidays, do a bunch of stuff you don’t really need or use. Take them on consignment, sell them in the classifieds, on Craigslist or on eBay. Take a seasonal part-time job to help cover additional costs. Or make a donation to a mission or thrift store and save the paperwork for taxes. Sometimes the mental cleansing that accompanies the cleansing is more valuable than cash.

6. Green Tree. Get a plantable tree. Yes, it will cost more, but if you have a spot in your yard, or can find someone else to buy it and plant it after the holidays, it will be doubly green!

7. Family gift cards. For older children, they may appreciate gift cards to popular clothing stores and department stores for games and the like. If everyone waits until that dreary week after Christmas, everyone can find some great deals and have a wonderful post-Christmas shopping spree. This helps boost fallen spirits. Combine that with some restaurant gift cards you’ve received and you can have a nice day and save some money.

8. Schedule Game Nights. Rekindle old friendships by scheduling game nights with family and friends. This will strengthen family and friendship ties, provide fun and inexpensive events to look forward to, and give structure, hope, and purpose to the first quarter of the year, which is often the most financially and emotionally stressful time. Make sure you don’t spend a lot of time or money on these events – the point is to have fun without spending a ton of money!

9. Plan for the coming year. The week between Christmas and New Years is a great time to reflect on the past year and make some goals for the coming year. Spend some time on thrift blogs like Simple Dollar for even more insights into frugality and environmental awareness. Take a blank piece of paper and make a list of 10 things you would like to do next year. Think about these categories: personal, financial, family, environmental, religious, professional, physical, education/development.

The key to making these tips work for you is a plan! Get that notebook and get started!