Holidays are fun to celebrate because you get to spend more quality time with your family but when you are disabled and unemployed holiday shopping can be stressful because you don’t have as much money to spend as people with a job does. As an unemployed disabled person, I love buying gifts for loved ones and seeing people’s reactions, but Christmas time can be a little more stressful because you have to buy for multiple people all at once and I don’t have a lot of money to spend. I am fortunate that the government gives me a check every month for being disabled because it has given me the ability to buy my friends and family gifts, but I get less than one thousand dollars a month which can go by quickly when you are buying for more than one person and still have other bills to pay. How do you save money during the holidays when you are unemployed? In this post, I am to talk about how I save money during the holidays.
Start your shopping early- People with jobs are able to consistently make money during the holidays, provided you aren’t taking a bunch of time off, but when you are unemployed, you aren’t able to make money like an employed person can. I get government checks every month for being disabled, which helps pay for medical expenses, but I only get a certain amount of money that needs to last the whole month because once it’s spent, I don’t get more until the next month. The month of December can be stressful because, despite what some people believe, the government does not make you loaded and barely gives you enough to survive. I try to start my Christmas shopping in November because I know I don’t have a lot of money, and it takes some of the financial burden off when I split it up in two months so I don’t go completely broke in one and can’t buy anything for myself. It sometimes can be difficult to start your shopping because not all family members are easy to shop for but if you are unemployed or have a low income, I highly recommend you do so because it will take some of the financial burden off and allow you to spend a little more money your friends if you want to. I love getting my Christmas shopping done early because it relieves a lot of stress and allows me to enjoy the holiday season a lot more.
Shop the sales- In the United States, we have a thing called Black Friday which is when stores do a bunch of sales that happens the Friday after Thanksgiving. I mostly do my Black Friday shopping online because shopping late at night when there are a lot of crowds does not appeal to me and there is nothing, I want so badly that I will stand an hour in line to get it. Sales are your best friend when you are unemployed, and I am all for any kind of sales even if it’s not that great because even if it only saves me ten dollars that is ten more dollars than I would have had. During the holidays, I try to take advantage of any sale because when you are on a limited income you have to be mindful of how much money to spend on each person.
Do a Secret Santa– I have four sisters which could get expensive when you have to buy for all of them at once. If I bought for all of my sisters people would be getting cheap twenty-dollar gifts because that is all I would be able to afford. During Christmas time my sisters and I do a Secret Santa which means that we only have to buy for one sister, and we started that to take some of the financial burden off because it can be expensive to buy for everyone. I am a huge fan of Secret Santa’s because when you buy for less people it helps you save money. If you are going to do a Secret Santa, you might want to set some ground rules and have a budget that is achievable for everyone to prevent people from overspending or underspending and going to the dollar store to get a stick of gum and call that a gift. If you don’t have a lot of money Secret Santa’s are a great option because Christmas shopping shouldn’t be so expensive that you have to take out a second mortgage.
Make a homemade gift- I don’t have a lot of money and could never afford to buy everyone in my family iPads for Christmas and sometimes struggle to buy myself electronics but because I get government assistance, I am able to buy things I would be able to without it. Some people who are unemployed might not be as fortunate as I am and are not able to buy things that are not a necessity. If you don’t have a lot of money and can’t afford to buy physical items another great option is homemade gifts. I have never made my friends and family homemade gifts and will buy my presents at the store because I don’t have any talents that people would want. If you can knit a sweater or cook some baked goods that might be something to consider because, in my opinion, homemade gifts are the most thoughtful kinds of gifts you can receive.
Set a budget– During the holidays, I always set a budget for how much money I am going to spend on each person because if I didn’t I would go broke before I finished my Christmas shopping. When you don’t have a budget it’s easy to lose track and spend more money than you intended which makes you go completely broke very quickly so you spend a lot of money on one person and hardly any on everyone else. Set a budget and try not to go over it because when you are unemployed you have to be a little more disciplined when it comes to money than someone with a job.
Shopping during the holiday season can be stressful for anyone because people often ask for expensive electronics that not everyone can afford. It can be even more stressful for unemployed people because you aren’t making an income and sometimes you feel bad that you can’t spend as much money as everyone else. Holidays should be enjoyable but it’s not going to be as enjoyable if you are constantly stressing about finances and worry that your gift is not good enough. Do what you can during the holidays and if you spend less money that is okay because you shouldn’t expect people who are unemployed to buy the most expensive gift. If people are not appreciative and ungrateful of your gift that is their problem that they need to work through. Plan ahead and be realistic with how much money you can spend because you can’t save money if you go on shopping spree’s and have no self-control. How do save money during the holiday season when you are unemployed? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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