The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Chonce. You can read more articles by Chonce over at her personal blog, My Debt Epiphany. Enjoy!
Single moms have a lot on their plate especially since they usually act as the single source of financial support for their family.
I was a single mom for about 6 years and I recently got married. Before I met my husband and back when I was still working on establishing my career, I remember that tense feeling I would get whenever the holidays came up.
I know that the holiday season is not just about money and gifts, but I still wanted my son to have a nice Christmas and have all his needs met. Luckily, I was able to meet all my holiday expenses and more while being a single mom and here are a few things I did to make it more affordable.
I Started Saving Up Ahead of Time
I’d recommend that everyone start saving up for the holiday season early especially if you are a parent. I never really spent a ton of money throughout the year so holiday gifts were always a mix of things we wanted and needed.
I kept holiday expenses in the back of my mind as early as July of each year and started to sock away a little cash every month. Sometimes it was small amounts like $20 each pay period, then I gradually increased the amount to $50 and son on. By the end of the year, I had quite a bit of money saved up.
I Picked Up Extra Work
I worked a part-time job with very limiting hours when I was a single mom and this was partly because I was juggling college at the time. During the holiday season, hours at my job picked up a bit and I always volunteered to work extra hours for Black Friday and on special weekends when there was in–store promotions.
Another thing I did was pick up extra shifts doing in-store demonstrations to promote certain products. Being a brand ambassador was a great side hustle for me because the pay was always more than minimum wage and the shifts were short and flexible.
Some days, I’d host alcohol tastings in popular stores for $20/hour. After a 4-5 hour shift, I had made quite a bit of extra money to put toward holiday expenses.
I Joined Holiday Sponsor Programs
The holiday season is all about giving. When you don’t have a lot, it’s okay to be open to receiving help as well. When I had a low income and was a single mom, I would sign up for holiday gift programs where sponsors help provide Christmas gifts for kids in the community.
There were quite a few groups and organizations that provided kids with gifts like local churches and the Salvation Army. Some programs had income limits for families to meet since they wanted to make sure they were serving families in need but for a lot of programs, household income didn’t even need to be disclosed.
At my college, there was a program called Christmas for Kids and it allowed kids to create holiday wish lists that would be matched up with a sponsor so they could receive Christmas gifts. The gifts were given at an annual event that included dinner so kids could meet with their actual sponsors and take pictures with them.
These events and programs were super helpful when I was a single mom because they helped provide my son with gifts that I might not have had the means to buy.
Now that I am in a better place financially, my family actually gives back by sponsoring a child for Christmas each year through our church.
I Participated in Gift Exchanges and Gave in Other Ways
Buying gifts for my child was one thing, but exchanging gifts with other people like family and friends also weighed heavy on my wallet. When I couldn’t afford to gift everyone, I decided to form a holiday gift exchange as well similar to a Secret Santa where each person was assigned someone to get a gift for instead of buying something for everyone in the group.
I usually didn’t stress about giving a bunch a gifts when I couldn’t afford to do so and focused on showing my appreciation for people and giving in other ways like baking special treats, doing a favor for someone, sending a holiday greeting card, etc.
I Accepted Gently Used Things
To stretch my budget even more so I could make ends meet and have a pleasant holiday season, I accepted some hand-me-down items especially holiday decor. Decor can be expensive so when my mom offered to give me her old tree and all her ornaments and decorations for it, I couldn’t pass up the offer.
Decorating our home for the holidays and putting up our tree is an important tradition we have that it a lot of fun. I’ve replaced the tree my mom gave me after a few years but we still use the decorations year after year which saves me a lot of money.
I also wasn’t (and I’m still not) opposed to picking up used toys and clothes depending on what they were. I’ve already shared my strategy for saving money on clothing, and I realized that young kids will play with just about any toy thanks to their imagination.
I’ve found some really nice thrift store finds for my son including toys he absolutely loves so mixing in something used with new items is just another way I liked to keep holiday expenses affordable.
The Holidays Don’t Have to Be Super Expensive
Christmas in my house has always been bright and special no matter what my financial situation was. It’s so fun to see how excited my son is each year and be able to create some special memories with him.
As you can see, the holidays don’t have to be so costly as long as you know your budget, can utilize local resources, and start saving up ahead of time. Worst case scenario, there are plenty of ways to earn extra money so your finances aren’t super tight around this costly time of year.
The tips and strategies I used can be used by anyone to make Christmas more affordable.
***Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/3132286400/in/
