For many years I used a 1% cash back credit card for all my purchases.

While this wasn’t a bad move – 1% is better than nothing, which is what you get from a debit card – it’s not ideal.

There are credit cards that offer 2% cash back on every purchase, which is double what I was getting. There are also many cards that have lucrative sign-up offers that I was completely missing out on.

If you start utilizing credit card rewards to make your vacations free or cheap, or to collect free cash back rewards, you are likely going to have a number of cards open. Some of these cards inevitably will come with an annual fee, or with a sign-up bonus that you must achieve within a certain amount of time (e.g. spend $2,000 within the first 4 months of card opening to earn 50,000 points that can be redeemed for a $500 statement credit, for example).

Between cash back credit cards, airline credit cards, and “point” credit cards, my wife and I have multiple credit cards.

It can be difficult to keep everything straight when you have multiple cards open, so I asked myself recently: why don’t I just take a few minutes when I open a card to record information in a spreadsheet?.

I create spreadsheets all the time. I work in spreadsheets all day at work and spreadsheet consulting is one of my side hustles. Many times it’s a no-brainer to me that setting up a spreadsheet is a good idea.

So I created a credit card rewards tracking spreadsheet in Excel.

The Credit Card Rewards Tracking Spreadsheet in Excel

 
The spreadsheet I created is simple yet effective. It can help you avoid forgetting about a card and having it renew, and it will help you keep a history of the rewards that you’ve gained so far.

 
This spreadsheet has a variety of columns to capture everything you would want to know about the card you signed up for, including when you would want to cancel it by to avoid the annual fee. The columns include:

• Number
• Credit Card Name
• Company
• Business or Personal
• Date Opened
• Date Annual Fee Hits
• Closed?
• Annual Fee
• Annual Fee Waived First Year?
• Bonus: Spend Required
• Bonus: Spend Timeline
• Bonus Complete By Date
• Bonus Description
• Bonus Program
• Who Signed Up?
• Notes

When you download the file you’ll see an example credit card I added in the first row. This example can serve as a guide to populate your credit cards. You can also add or delete columns as you see fit.

I’ve been using this spreadsheet for over five years and it’s one that I keep going back to. I have yet to see a better system for managing all your credit cards and tracking rewards and annual fees.

If you want the free credit card rewards tracking spreadsheet fill in the form below and it will be sent to your email.

There are a ton of budgeting apps out there, but many people end up using some sort of a spreadsheet for their budget.

Spreadsheets offer control and flexibility to users, and allows them to look closer at the transactions going through their accounts.

I have nothing against apps. Many people find them useful, and there’s no denying that there are a ton of good ones out there.

But I personally have used a budget spreadsheet for years and have found it useful. The more people I talk to about budgeting, the more I hear that people desire a spreadsheet-based budget without all the manual work that comes with it.

Today we finally have a budget spreadsheet in Excel that is automated and easy to update. But first let me tell you a bit about the budgeting process I’ve used in the past.

My Budgeting Process

 
I’m an Excel nerd so using a spreadsheet to budget was a no-brainer for me. I’ve had the same spreadsheet for over four years now. But why haven’t I shared it?

When I share spreadsheets and tools I want them to be as easy to use as possible. The biggest issue with spreadsheet budgeting is getting all the data in the proper format.

I have a number of credit cards due to credit card churning, plus throw in a bank account and you can see why it would take quite a bit of time to reformat everything. No two financial institutions seem to export data in the same format. So there’s a lot of work on the backend.

I didn’t want to share a budgeting spreadsheet until I solved this key piece of the puzzle. Fast forward four years and I still haven’t shared a spreadsheet.

That all changed when I discovered Tiller.

Tiller – The Key to Automation

 
Tiller is what I have been waiting for: it automates the process of pulling in your financial data into a clean, uniform format.

Now there are a ton of apps out there that link to your accounts. But they don’t allow you to dump your data into a spreadsheet because they either haven’t built a tool that can do that or they have a huge incentive to not allow their users to dump data into a spreadsheet.

Once you sign up for Tiller you simply have to connect your accounts and your financial transactions will be dumped into a Google Spreadsheet each day. They will come through in a uniform format that looks something like this:

 
Tiller does cost money. You can use my link for a free 30 day trial, but after that it’s $6.58/month. If you’re like me and spend an hour or more getting your data into a uniform format or have avoided budgeting because you don’t want to take the time to mess with your data, $6.58/month is well worth what you are getting in return for Tiller’s service. (Don’t worry they have a 60-day money-back guarantee as well).

Tiller has bank-grade security and has partnered with a company that works with some of the biggest banks in North America to ensure it’s up to the same high standards banks are held to. What was even more reassuring to me was hearing that their employees can’t even see your financial data. You can read more about their security and other features of their service on their website.

I’m all for Google Sheets, and Tiller absolutely can work simply using Google Sheets, but Excel is where it’s at if you want a clean and good-looking budget spreadsheet.

So I took it a step further and created an automated budget spreadsheet in Excel.

An Automated Budget Spreadsheet in Excel

 
Tiller is a great start, but my automated budget spreadsheet in Excel is where people will feel most “at home.” Excel is widely used and I’ve created a spreadsheet that someone with limited experience can use.

The spreadsheet has a directions tab that guides you through the process of updating the spreadsheet with your data. It also points out best practices that will help you not “break” the file.

 
The data tab is where you will want to paste your Tiller data. The data will then become part of a table that uses formulas to automatically populate the monthly summary tabs and the annual summary tabs.

Note that Tiller does not automatically populate the category for each transaction. Having the user populate the category allows the user to assign relevant categories and look at the transactions at a lower level of detail than they would if category was auto-filled.
 

 
On the categories tab you can add or delete categories as you see fit.
 

 
On the monthly summary tabs, everything is automated except for the budget column and the categories. You can add and delete categories as you see fit. You can unhide the hidden rows towards the bottom if you need to add more categories.

Everything is formula-driven, making it easy to see a snapshot for the month. While tabs have already been created for each month in 2024, you can easily make a copy of any of the months tab and choose a different month and year drop-down as you see fit. Everything will update automatically for whatever month you choose.
 

 
One additional thing included in this file is the annual summary. If you go to the 2024 tab you can see an annual summary of your income and expenses by month. This is automatically populated and you can easily make a summary for future years by choosing a different year from the drop-down.
 

 
This spreadsheet takes a lot of the manual work out of the budgeting process and gives you nice clean views of your financials, both budgeted versus actual as well as net inflow and outflow of cash.

My hope is that this easier process of importing and tagging data will encourage others to start budgeting. After all, using this process you can easily update your budget in less than 30 minute a month, perhaps even less than 10 minutes depending on how many transactions you need to tag.

There are hundreds of credit card options out there, so how does someone go about choosing their first credit card?

“What credit card should I get?” is a question I hear often. Many who are picking out their very first credit card are overwhelmed by the options.

Not all credit cards are available to those who have never opened one. Many require good or excellent credit scores. But if you haven’t opened a credit card you haven’t had time to build a solid credit history that would qualify you for a wide range of cards.

There’s a few things I think people should keep in mind when opening their first card, such as opening one with no annual fee, using only a small percentage of your available credit, and more. We’ll get into all of that, but first let’s get to what I recommend for a first credit card.

The Best First Credit Card

 

The card I recommend for a first credit card is the Discover it® Cash Back card.

Discover was my first credit card. I opened my Discover card about a decade ago and have been using it ever since.

Special Offer: When you use our link to sign up (any link on this page), you will get a $100 statement credit when you record your first purchase within three months.

Here’s some reasons I think the Discover it® Cash Back card is the ideal first credit card:

1) No Annual Fee

 
When it comes to a first credit card, having no annual fee is the most important feature I look for. If a card has an annual fee, it’s simply not a good first credit card.

Your credit score is, in part, based on your credit history. If you open a card with no annual fee you can keep it open forever even if you decide to stop using it and move on to a different card. If you open a card with an annual fee you will likely end up closing it, perhaps even within a year or two of opening it.

The Discover it® Cash Back card does not have an annual fee, so it fits the bill.

2) Solid Rewards

 
While it’s true that there is no huge sign-up bonus for the Discover it card, it does have solid rewards you will be able to take advantage of.

• 1% Cash Back on Every Purchase
   
  The Discover it® Cash Back card has always offered 1% cash back, regardless of where the purchase was made, what was purchased, etc. No matter what you will always get 1% cash back on every purchase.

• 5% Revolving Quarterly Cash Back Categories
   
  Each quarter of the year Discover offers a new 5% cash back offer. For example, this quarter it may be 5% cash back on restaurants, up to a certain amount (i.e. $1,500). Next quarter it could be Amazon purchases. There is a new category every quarter.
   
  This is a great perk if you take advantage of it. 5% cash back is not something you will find on many other cards.

• Partner Gift Cards
   
  One of my favorite benefits of the Discover it® Cash Back card is the partner gift card program. My wife and I have used this for years and it’s always nice to get a “free” gift card.
   
  It’s a really simple program. If you use your cash back rewards to redeem a gift card, you will get the gift card at a discounted rate. For example my two personal favorite gift cards to get are $50 Starbucks and Chipotle gift cards. You can get either of these for just $45 of your cash back, which means you get another free $5 on top of the $45 you already accumulated through cash back rewards.
   
  There are currently 100+ participating stores/brands and some have even better deals than what I described for Chipotle and Starbucks. For example, a $50 Gap gift card can be had for just $40 in cash back rewards. A $50 AMC gift card can be had for $45 in cash back rewards, and so on.

3) Free FICO Credit Score

 
If you get a Discover it® Cash Back card you have complimentary access to your FICO credit score. This perk is no longer unique, as many if not most credit cards now offer a free credit score. With that being said, I like how the Discover FICO credit score shows your total number of accounts, length of credit history, number of credit inquiries the past 12 months, and what your credit utilization is.

 
Special Offer: When you use our link to sign up (any link on this page), you will get a $100 statement credit when you record your first purchase within three months.

Tips for People Getting their First Credit Card

 
It’s important to use your first credit card responsibly. It can be a great tool to build your credit history, but only if you use it right. It’s best to be disciplined from the get-go so you don’t fall into the trap and habit of maxing out your credit cards.

Here’s 3 tips for people getting their first credit card:

• Treat your credit card like cash
   
  The fact that you are getting your first credit card means that you are not in credit card debt. You have an opportunity to never get into credit card debt, but it requires you to immediately get in the mindset of treating your card like cash.
   
  If you don’t have the money, don’t charge it, and make sure you pay off your credit card in full each month.

• Only use 1/3 of your available credit at any one time
   
  Using only 1/3 of your available credit may not seem like common sense, but your credit score is impacted by how much credit you utilize. So if you were approved for $1,000 in credit you should keep the balance on your card below $333, or less, at any given time.
   
  There is no penalty for making multiple payments towards your credit card throughout the month, so consider taking that approach if you are worried you will go above the 1/3 credit utilization threshold.
   
  This can be difficult with your first credit card. There is a good chance you will only be approved for a small amount, such as $500. 1/3 of that is not much, so you’ll need to limit what you charge to your card as well as pay it off diligently.

  That brings us to our next tip of requesting an increase in your credit after 6-12 months.

• Request a credit increase after 6-12 months
   
  Along the same lines of only using 1/3 of your available credit, you will also want to consider requesting a credit increase after 6-12 months. If you have been consistently paying off your card you are likely in a good position to have your request approved.
   
  How do you request a credit increase? With Discover it’s an option within their online dashboard. If you aren’t approved, don’t sweat it. You can wait another few months and submit the request again.

 
To summarize, I recommend the Discover it® Cash Back card as a first credit card. It has no annual fee, solid rewards, and a free FICO credit score.

When you apply through our link, you get a $100 statement credit when you make your first purchase within 3 months.

 
To be clear, this isn’t the only option for a first credit card. There are other good cash back and rewards credit cards that you may want to consider for your first credit card. You can browse the other options here.
 
 

A popular topic in personal finance is passive income.

Income that doesn’t require you to trade your time for money is “the dream” for many people.

There are many different forms of passive income, but the ultimate passive income is dividend income.

Dividend income comes from owning dividend-paying stocks. Not every company pays dividends. If a company is focused 100% on growth, they are going to use all their earnings to continue to grow their business.

With that being said there are many large companies that are focused on growth that pay a dividend. In fact it would almost be silly for a publicly traded company to not have a growth strategy.

Many of the large blue chip companies pay dividends, though their dividend yield (Amount paid out in dividends annually divided by current stock price) can vary. For example, Best Buy has a relatively high dividend yield of 4.18%, while Visa has a modest 0.80% dividend yield.

Even if you have other financial priorities that take precedence, learning and being aware of the opportunities that come with dividend income can motivate people to save more money, pay off debt faster, and make more money so that they can take advantage of all the benefits that come from dividend income.

With that in mind, let’s get to the real question here: how much can you make in dividend income?

How Much Can You Make in Dividend Income?

 
The first thing I need to say before answering this question is this: it’s not easy to make a sizable amount of dividend income. If it was easy no one would work and everyone would simply live off of their passive dividend income.

Using the spreadsheet I created, let’s look at what you would be able to make annually from dividends if you invested $5,000 in 3M stocks:

 
Okay so you’d only make $123 each year. Now that may not feel like much, but remember it’s also reasonable to expect 3M’s stock to appreciate over time. Also, don’t forget how great dividend income is: you are getting $123 by simply owning $5,000 worth of 3M stock! No effort required.

Let’s take a look at a higher investment amount: $100,000.

 
Nearly $2,500 a year – not too bad! You can see why dividend income is so attractive, especially to those looking to retire early or who don’t want to spend down their assets in retirement.

Quick math shows that owning $1 million of 3M stock would yield $25,000 a year in entirely passive income. Do you have $2 million to invest? double it up to $50,000 a year.

I don’t know about you, but this sort of scenario analysis is incredibly motivating to me.

I spend most of my free time working on side hustles to increase my income, and while paying off debt is the primary goal right now, long-term I would love to regularly funnel “extra” side hustle income into dividend-paying stocks.

If you are an entrepreneur or want to be an entrepreneur, dividend income just might give you the motivation needed to put in the long hours and hard work to build your business. After all, if you are able to sell for a couple million dollars – or more – you very well could live off of passive dividend income the rest of your life.

It’s an easy way to save over $1,000 in one year. $1,378 to be exact.

The 52 Week Money Challenge is realistic for anyone because it doesn’t require the same amount of money to be saved each week. That’s because over the course of 52 weeks you save as little as $1 and, at most, $52.

Let’s take a more detailed look at how the 52 Week Money Challenge works, and some alternative ways of doing the challenge.

How the 52 Week Money Challenge Works

 
The 52 Week Money Challenge is simple. Over the course of 52 weeks, you make a deposit into your savings account once a week. The deposits range in value from $1 to $52.

One way people do this is deposit $1 the first week, $2 the second week, $3 the third week, and so on. At the end of 52 weeks the deposits total $1,378.

Another way to do this is vary the payments. Perhaps you deposit $52 the first week, $1 the second week, $51 the third week, and so on. This works well when there are busy times, like Christmas, where money is tighter, or if you have an unexpected expense that sets you back.

Being able to adjust your weekly contribution as needed is an added layer of flexibility to the challenge, but not everyone takes that approach. It can be easier to just stick with increasing your contribution each week by $1. Who knows? Maybe you will even continue past the 52 weeks.

Another variation is to multiply the amount you save. Depositing $1 through $52 is great because you will save $1,378 in one year, but why not up the ante? If you deposit $5 through $260 in increments of $5, you would have nearly $7,000 saved. This is a great way to make a game out of building an emergency fund.

I recommend having a separate savings fund at a different bank than your home bank or credit union to create a separation between the money you have for spending and the money you are saving for a rainy day. My choice is a high-yield savings account at CIT Bank. Many banks pay almost nothing in interest for their savings account. You deserve to get a high interest rate on your savings account, and CIT Bank is a great option.

Download the 52 Week Money Challenge Spreadsheet and Printable

 
If the 52 Week Money Challenge sounds like something that you want to try, we have a free 52 Week Money Challenge Spreadsheet and Printable for you.

If you want the spreadsheet or printable, you can get a free copy below.

Don’t miss out on our free budget spreadsheet or these travel rewards credit cards that can help you achieve your travel goals faster.

If you’re like me, a lot of ideas are swimming around in your head. It can be hard to nail down what areas of your life you want to focus on.

That’s where this list of 100 goals to focus on for a successful year comes in handy!

100 goals is a lot of goals, but this list is meant to give you a bunch of ideas that you can pick and choose from. We have ideas for money goals, career goals, personal development goals, and finally health & fitness goals.

You’ll find inspiration and things you can take action on below.

1. Create an emergency fund
2. Automate your savings
3. Create a budget
4. Track your income and expenses
5. Save for a down payment on a house, a wedding, a baby fund, a car, etc.
6. Create a student loan repayment strategy.
7. Travel more, but spend less by travel hacking using credit card rewards to get free flights and hotel stays
8. Make a plan to give a percentage of your income to charity
9. Identify your spending triggers and create a plan to cut temptation out
10. Make a plan for paying off your debt
11. Commit to not getting further into debt
12. Learn more about investing
13. Open an IRA and start saving for retirement
14. Contribute more toward your 401(k) – enough to get matching contributions from your employer (if it’s offered)
15. Learn how to invest in rental property
16. Read some awesome personal finance books
17. Spend in a way that reflects your values
18. Save a certain percentage of your income each month
19. Start a side hustle
20. Review your insurance coverage to make sure your needs are met
21. Consider refinancing your student loans and learn about income-driven repayment plans
22. Try calling creditors to get your interest rates lowered if you have credit card debt
23. Cut cable (if you haven’t already!)
24. Take a “no-spend” challenge or a ban on buying certain things
25. Calculate and track your net worth
26. Learn how to optimize your taxes and take advantage of tax savings
27. Create a will and an estate plan if you have a family

1. Ask for a raise, or work toward getting one
2. Work toward a promotion (and a raise)
3. Update your resume
4. Go to networking events in your area
5. Go to a conference in your industry (yes, even if you are a huge introvert!)
6. Try learning one new skill each quarter that you can apply directly to your job
7. Create a “pat on the back” folder in your inbox and fill it with praise you receive from coworkers and managers
8. Distance yourself from office politics as much as possible
9. Start a side business to diversify your income
10. Look for a better paying job with more opportunities for growth if you feel stagnant at your current job
11. Find a mentor in your field
12. Work toward receiving recognition for something you’ve done – does your employer offer awards?
13. Work more hours or less hours depending on your personal and financial goals
14. Get comfortable with negotiating
15. Take a public speaking class, join Toastmasters, or seek out opportunities for public speaking
16. Explore other interests you have to gear up for a career change
17. Do regular salary research to make sure you are getting paid what you should be
18. Consider going back to school for an advanced degree
19. Take a course to get certified in something related to your industry
20. If you’re still in college, research internship opportunities
21. Raise your rates with clients if you’re a freelancer and/or business owner
22. Get comfortable with the idea of outsourcing and think of how it can benefit your career instead of hurt it
23. Learn how to manage your time better
24. Set expectations and boundaries with clients/customers
25. Find a way to showcase your creativity in your job

1. Find things to be grateful for
2. Control your thoughts and emotions and choose to react better to negative situations
3. Give meditation a try
4. Learn the art of having patience – good for those with a short fuse
5. If you’re Type A, try going with the flow and being spontaneous more often
6. If you’re Type B, try embracing organization and planning more
7. Think of a few habits you want to develop (like not checking your phone/social media as often) and mindfully incorporate them into your life
8. Consider enlisting professional help in the form of a coach or psychologist
9. Read inspirational stories from others
10. Make more time for yourself; stop focusing on others as much
11. Live more intentionally and mindfully each day
12. Volunteer at an organization close to your heart
13. Become more confident in yourself; have faith you can accomplish new things
14. Get out of your comfort zone and do something completely out of character (but still legal, of course)
15. Learn a new language
16. Travel to a different country and live like a local to immerse yourself in a different culture
17. Write something, whether that means starting a blog or going all in and writing a book
18. Put yourself in the shoes of others more often
19. Get rid of your tendency to procrastinate and get ahead on a few projects
20. Pick up a book like How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie (a classic) or The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
21. Learn a new language using software like Duolingo or Rosetta Stone
22. Wake up earlier to get a head start on the day (or work through the night ;))
23. Cut out or decrease the time you spend in front of the TV
24. Consume more information – there’s tons of free content out there in the form of books, blogs, podcasts, video courses, etc.
25. Keep a daily journal or blog

1. Try cutting out sugar from your diet
2. Eat smaller meals frequently throughout the day
3. Cut out all fast food
4. De-stress and relax more often
5. Be proactive and get an annual checkup
6. Set aside 10-15 minutes each day, search YouTube for a exercise video, and do it!
7. Get into exercising at home with light weights or kettlebells
8. Go to your apartment complex’s gym or your town’s community fitness center for free
9. Become vegan or vegetarian
10. Have vegetables with every meal, or at least two out of three meals per day
11. Drink more water (a Contigo water bottle can help)
12. Choose to walk to places within a mile or two of your house instead of driving
13. Start a couch to 5k program to work your way up to running
14. Make it a point to try a new, healthy meal at least once per month
15. Join a community sports team or find a Meetup group where people play sports
16. Improve your posture by being mindful of how you sit at work, or…
17. Get a standing desk (you can build your own)
18. Increase your flexibility
19. Commit to working out at least three times a week, every week
20. Visit a nutritionist to optimize your diet
21. Get more sleep
22. Decrease or cut out any unhealthy vices you have, like smoking, drinking, or eating frozen meals all the time
23. Pick a workout or diet program and stick with it consistently for a month or two
24. Make sure you’re getting enough vitamins from your diet and if not, choose appropriate supplements
25. Try a new fitness class to get more excited about getting in shape (Groupon always has deals)

 
If you’re looking to make next year your best year yet, then these 100 goals focused on money, career, personal development, and health and fitness should help make it happen!

Luckily, you have control over one of the most notoriously expensive parts of Christmas – gift giving. Here are 14 creative and cheap alternatives to traditional Christmas gifts.

1) Donations

 
Giving a donation in someone’s name in lieu of gifts can be even more meaningful, and can really help those who are truly in need during this time of year. Making a donation in the name of your family or friend is something nearly everyone would like or at least appreciate.

If you aren’t sure what organization your friend or family member supports, just ask. They will appreciate the thought, and it’s always better to ask to ensure money in their name is going to a cause they really care about.

DC here – I’ve given a donation as a gift and received one as a gift in the past and it was awesome. Especially as an adult, so often we already have so much “stuff” that it can be refreshing to receive a gift that is actually a donation helping a good cause. Highly recommend it! My go-to is the World Wildlife Foundation, which has a great gift option where you can give a stuffed animal or other gifts as a physical representation of the donation you gave.

2) Secret Santa

 
If you can’t bear the idea of a gift-free Christmas, why not consider a Secret Santa gift exchange? Before Christmas day, everyone randomly draws another family member’s name and purchase a gift for that specific person. During the gift exchange, everyone gets one gift.

You can even put a price limit on how much everyone can spend. This not only make a Secret Santa an incredibly budget-friendly option, but it also forces participants to get creative with their gifts.

3) Potluck Dinner

 
Hosting a big potluck dinner can be celebration enough. At a potluck, everyone can bring their own dish to share, which can be considered a gift in itself. In addition, a potluck takes some of the stress and financial responsibility off the host.

To make it even more fun, you can consider a theme meal, where everyone brings a dish and dresses up according to the theme.

4) Make Memories

 
Instead of gifts, think of something you and your family or friends can all do together. It doesn’t have to cost much, but chances are, experiences you’ve had together are going to be more memorable than a gift.

This could really be anything – a trip to the movies, a weekend getaway, a fancy meal out. You may even find that this becomes tradition.

5) Create a “Need” List

 
It’s never easy to guess what people want for Christmas. Instead, ask everyone what they really need.

If you’re going to be spending money on them, they would probably appreciate something they really needed versus a gift that they might not even use.

6) Give Your Time

 
The gift of time is not only one of the most meaningful gifts, but it can be one of the most helpful. Everyone could use additional help in some area of their life – whether it’s a house cleaning, organizing, cleaning up the lawn, or a special project.

Helping them for an afternoon might not even feel like much work to you, but the recipient will surely appreciate your help.

It’s also worth pointing out that actually scheduling this is much preferable to giving a coupon for future use. Many people who receive coupons as gifts rarely redeem them. Offering to help with landscaping or watching someone’s kids so they can go on a date night should be put on the calendar so it actually happens.

7) Start a Savings Account

 
For anyone with children in your family, consider starting a savings account. Instead of spending money on gifts, put a few dollars into a savings account to give them when they graduate high school.

Okay, maybe a FEW gifts. But you can still get the savings account rolling as well.

Though it might not save you lot of money right now, it does re-purpose that money into something more meaningful than the latest gift. If you are unsure whether this would be appropriate, talk with the child’s parents.

8) Go Homemade

 
Whether or not you consider yourself crafty, you can make a variety or relatively simple homemade items to give as gifts. Everyone appreciates a creative homemade gift, and the possibilities are endless.

You can make anything from woodworking projects, scarves, body scrubs, food items, and more. Making items homemade can be much more cost effective versus buying a gift for everyone. They might just take a little more time since you have to actually make the gift, so be sure to start plenty of time in advance.

9) Give Household Staple Items

 
Giving household staple items might not be the most meaningful gift, but they rank high in usefulness and simplicity. If you’re unsure of what to give, household items like nice hand soaps, bath items, cleaning supplies, or even laundry detergent can make great gifts.

I like this gift because I’m practical. It’s something that will never go unused, and allows me to save more money in my budget by not having to buy such household items for a few months. To make it seem a little more special, you can wrap it up into a gift basket to give to the recipient.

10) Don’t Exchange Gifts at All

 
Though it may seem taboo to some, it is possible to forgo gifts entirely and without guilt.

The important step is to ensure everyone is on board with a no-gift Christmas. If you are proposing a no-gift Christmas, you’ll also want to stress that this truly means no gifts. Inevitably, one family member will give small gifts, causing everyone else to feel slightly guilty. When you all talk about it beforehand, it allows everyone to be on the same page.

11) Celebrate Christmas in the Off-Season

 
Though it is possible to find sale items during the holiday season, the sales are far less significant than other times of the year. Add that to the already hectic holiday season, and you’re spending much more money than you would be during another time of year.

One way to elevate some of these costs is to hold the holiday celebration during another time of year. Many people find a “Christmas in July” is more affordable than celebrating in December.

12) Limit the Number of Gifts

 
It can be easy for gift-giving to get out of hand. You may feel inclined to buy endless gifts for everyone. One way to combat this is to limit the number of gifts you buy for each person.

The key is communicate your ideas with everyone you are celebrating with. This ensures that no one feels slighted or upset after Christmas.

13) Host a White Elephant Exchange

 
For a fun and informal Christmas gift exchange, you can declare it white elephant. That means everyone buys or finds one funny gag gift. It truly can be anything. Then you go about exchanging the gifts by drawing out of a hat.

This may not be for everyone, but it is a fun and very affordable way to celebrate a family Christmas.

14) Split Meaningful Family Gifts

 
What gifts could your family all benefit from or enjoy? Why not go in and purchase a group gift?

This could be something such as family portraits, a new household item if you all live together, a trip you take together, or even purchasing the research to create a family tree.