This is actually the first year that we will be giving Easter gifts (a.k.a. Easter baskets) to our boys. We just did not have the room in the budget to do it the other two years of Conner’s life and to be honest, he would not have even remembered.
Therefore, now that we are working on making Easter on a budget work for us, we are using a few different ideas to help make it possible.
Plan
Planning will save you time and money. Know what gifts you want to purchase weeks (if not months) before Easter and plan accordingly. Same goes for East outfits – plan what outfits you will need to purchase in advance so you are not scrambling to find the perfect outfits that fit in your budget.
How Much
How much can you realistically afford to spend on Easter? This is a critical question to ask yourself before you go crazy spending too much money. Can you only afford $20 or can you afford $100? Is that per person or collectively? Once you know how much you can spend, adjust your plan accordingly and make a list of the items you want to purchase that are within your price range.
Skip It
Do not have the room in the budget for Easter décor? Skip it. Do not have the room in the budget for new Easter outfits? Skip it. Do not have the room in the budget for more than one bag of candy? Skip it. Do not have the room in the budget for an Easter ham? Skip it. (We actually cook hot dogs and hamburgers on Easter and no one has complained.)
All too often we feel bad for not providing the same experiences as our neighbors and friends, but the truth is that we are all different and experiences were meant to be shared but they weren’t meant to be the same for everyone. Skip what you cannot fit in the budget and let go of any guilt that you may feel because there is always next year.
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I love writing about my family's journey towards financial freedom and about ways to optimize your life, save money, and live well! Here are a few more ways you can save money:
- Cook at home. During our debt-free journey we NEVER went out to eat because we honestly couldn't afford it, and now, even though we could afford it, we still don't go out to eat that often. But I'll be honest, meal planning was such a struggle for me during that time, but it totally saved our budget when I did it effectively! I ended up using a meal planning service for about two years which helped me not only meal plan better, but also helped me to create wholesome, healthy, and delicious meals for my whole family! You can see all the details and try different meal plans based on your preferences here .
- Earn gift cards. A simple way to earn a little extra money from home by using the Swagbucks site instead of Google for searching. I actually still do this to earn Home Depot gift cards for all our home projects. You can also do surveys and a few other things to earn points, which you redeem to purchase gift cards from them. Swagbucks is what we used to earn Amazon gift cards to help pay for Christmas or cash through PayPal to help pay off our debt faster. You can sign up for Swagbucks here.
- Switch Cell Phone Providers. One of the best things we did on the debt-free journey was to switch from our super expensive $150+ a month cell phone bill to a much more affordable plan! In fact, my cell phone bill is only $30 a month (my husband's plan is paid by his business)! Check out Mint Mobile here to see if you can save your family some money!
- Create a budget. It took us a while to figure out a budget that works well for our family, but the two things that we have used over the years and still do (and still love) are my Budget Binder and Personal Capital (online budgeting software). You can see my Budget Binder tutorial here and check out Personal Capital here.
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