Free Insurance Guide

The following list was compiled by members of our staff.  Some tips are about how to control your spending; some are about how to get what you want for less.  Not all money-saving tips will be useful in every part of the world or for every wallet.  If you have any other ideas, please share them as a comment below.

1. Make your own eggnog

If you’re going to put vodka in it, then you’re disrupting the factory formula anyway, so why not mix your own?  Here’s are a few recipes:

• Amazingly Good Eggnog (from allrecipes.com)
• Mama’s Eggnog (from foodnetwork.com)
• Alcoholic Eggnog (from eggnogrecipe.net)

2. Have a religious holiday season

Whether it’s Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, or Festivus, observance of the holy day has nothing to do with spending. — (And if you’re not celebrating one of these holidays, what’s got you concerned with saving money in December?) — Place the focus of your festivities on the reason for the season, and marginalize your family’s gift-giving and getting.  (I’m sure the three wise men from the east scarcely intended to drive future generations into spending frenzies.)

3. Instead of the movie theatre…

Watch movies at home.  Yes, the screen is smaller, but the floor is cleaner, and the snacks are cheaper.  Find free flicks from Hallmark or Hulu.com.  Find affordable films at Redbox or Netflix.  (Netflix is probably the most expensive, yet you can still get unlimited movies for the price of a single theatre ticket.)

Pop popcorn in oil on the stove.  (I always do this, and it’s way better than theatre corn.  Don’t forget to add salt.)

4. Keep the thermostat low

HVAC accounts for more than half of utilities expenses in the home.  Turn down the heat and use it as an excuse to snuggle with Mr. Right.  If you don’t have a Mr. Right, spend time with his neighbour, Mr. Right-Here.

There’s a thermostat on your water heater too.  Keeping your hot water tank at a lower temperature will save energy, so why not lower the heat to the 115–120° range?  It’s still hot enough to scald you.

5. How to find bargains

Use websites like retailmenot and groupon.com to find coupons.  For the months of November and December, follow your favorite merchants on Twitter in order to be appraised of the specials they offer.

6. Assigned gift exchange

Decrease the number of purchases you have to make by setting up an assigned gift exchange with a circle of your family or friends.

Announce the project and allow people to voluntarily sign up.  Have a moderator assign each participant to give a gift of their choice to another participant so that every participant is giving one gift and receiving one gift.  Or put names into a hat and have every participant draw a name to learn whom they are to benefit.

Naturally, this arrangement won’t work in groups of people where gifts are spontaneous and not obligatory, but you can pull this off if you have a standing practice of giving to and receiving from all the people in a particular group.

7. Re-use wrappings

Re-use wrapping paper and bags from the year before.  Bags and tissue paper are a popular gift-wrapping medium in my family because of this practice.

8. Re-use the tree

Use an artificial tree, which is good for decorating year after year.  Miss the pine smell?  Decorate your home with pine boughs.  They’re much less expensive than a tree and may be obtained for free.

9. White elephants

You don’t have to give everyone on your list white elephants, but you and a select circle of your friends or family could agree to only exchange white elephant gifts with each other this year.  What’s a “white elephant”?  It’s anything you already have around the domicile, for which you haven’t any use.  (Maybe a gift you got last year?)

10. Make a budget

If you don’t do this regularly, try it just for the holiday expenses.  Decide today how much you will spend on decorating, holiday parties, holiday treats, and gifts.  Write it down, stick it to the fridge, and abide by it.  (Hold onto your receipts so you can measure how well you’ve done.)

11. Charitable gifts

Charitable donations made in someone else’s name are a trendy way to show affection at holiday time.  They can also be a way to save money, since the giver can write off charitable donations for a tax deduction.

12. Don’t throw a party; be the party

Lots of people are hosting parties this season.  As an alternative to scheduling a party of your own and competing with all the other parties for guests, just be a guest.  Be a guest multiple times!

13. A cheaper feast

Most years, my mum gives us a simple “Jerusalem supper” on Christmas day.  We have lentils, nuts, brown bread, cheese, and whatever we imagine was eaten in Jerusalem around the year 1 AD.

Too traditional for you?  You might try simply downgrading your feast.  If you usually buy turkey, try ham.  If you usually eat ham, try hamburger helper.  If that’s still too much, I advise you to read Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal.

14. Affordable Christmas cards

Use an affordable printer for your Christmas cards or send eCards this holiday.  In the information age, finding a cheap printer has never been easier.  At work, we use Auburn Printers.

15. Stay healthy

Although it costs money to stay healthy, you’ll have a better personal economy if you avoid missing work and paying medical bills.  Keep EmergenC and SuperC on hand to boost your immune system.  Get up half an hour earlier and have a brisk walk before you shower.  Eat unprocessed foods.  Eat organic.  (A wholesome diet now will make a difference in your pocketbook when you’re 50.)

16. Nix the store-bought sweets

Don’t buy Christmas chocolates and sweets.  Make them at home if you must have them.  At my house, we make caramels, and the ingredients are cheap: cream, corn syrup, sugar, and water.  (We throw in some pecans too, though they’re not cheap.)

Cooking together is a great (non-commercial) activity that you can perform with your family, but experience has taught me that coordinating cooking for multiple cooks requires no shortage of management skills.  One of you may need to be chef de cuisine and run the show, not actually do any cooking at all.

17. Save the leftovers

Don’t overeat; drag the feast out over several days.  Most people’s bodies are experts at knowing when more food is required, so eat slowly and listen for your body’s cues as you savour your food.  Are you eating because you’re bored or because you’re hungry?  When you’re full, stop eating.  Save your leftovers for later in the day or for another day.  Even eating judiciously, I’d be surprised if you still have leftovers by the time New Year’s Day rolls around.

18. Full loads only

If you’re a guest in someone’s home or hosting guests of your own, you’re probably generating great piles of dirty clothes and soiled dishes.  Use washing machines and dishwashers sparingly.  At my parents’ home, washing machine and dishwasher use spikes during the holidays and accounts for a great increase in the utilities bill.

19. Don’t buy the extended warranty

Seriously, how many times in your life has an item failed during the extended warranty period?  If it’s more than one, consider saving a bundle by never paying for the extended warranty option.  The cost varies considerably by product, but my experience shows it running around 15–30% of the initial cost of the item.

20. Go green

Don’t leave your Christmas lights burning during the day hours or the wee hours of the morning.  Use a timer that plugs into your power outlet to control the hours that your tree and house are alight.  If you can find them, use LEDs instead of incandescent vacuum bulbs.  LEDs use less power even than fluorescents.

(Again, an artificial tree is reusable and affordable.)

21. Tell your children the truth

Need to save money on gifts?  Tell your children the truth about Santa Claus.

22. Tell your children a lie

Not ready to tell your kids the truth about Santa Clause but you still want to save money on gifts?  Just tell the kiddies they’re on Santa’s naughty list.

23. Get the real experience

To save on rent and utilities, move your family to a stable for the Christmas season.  Smaller children can sleep in feedboxes for that authentic manger experience.

24. Last resorts

We all want to go to Tahoe or Utah to play in the snow, but that doesn’t mean we have to stay in a resort.  (We don’t even have to hit the slopes, really.)

25. A gift that keeps on giving

Give your loved ones a gift that will save them or you money, like double-ply windows or energy-saver light bulbs.

On this site, it seems appropriate to point out that one gift that keeps on giving is life insurance.  It’s for the ones you care about.

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