How hard is it to stick with the changes that you made? It is really difficult to make changes in your spending habits around Christmas it’s like trying to start a diet just before Christmas. It doesn’t work. What would work is trying to stick with spending in moderation as much as possible.

I try to be very frugal all the time. This does not mean cheap because I do like nice things but I do not like having to replace them all the time. Even when giving gifts, I can tell I have grown because I would rather give a quality gift than a cheap one. Quality and an expensive price tag are not always synonymous. Using coupons and shopping the sales along with a little creativity also helps me to get things together and make them look fabulous.

I have seen some shopping tips on saving money on Christmas gifts lately and some I do not necessarily agree with unless you are very young. Buying a set of lip glosses and then separating them among several people will not work for everyone and what if you give someone a shade they don’t like and would like to exchange it – awkward.

Buying a gift basket and separating out the different items that you like and then giving it to the recipient or to several people (not in the same office or household) would be the same. To stick to your budget, you would buy something small that you know the person will use, like and definitely appreciate and then wrap it attractively. Sure there are some things you can get at the dollar store that you can tell they cost a dollar and then there are things that are worth more because they were purchased from a closeout or discount from a manufacturer or other store.

I gave someone some brand name cologne that I bought from the dollar store before. The bottle’s design was being changed and the cologne is still made. Also, I’ve seen leather iPod cases from a reputable case maker for four quarters as well. Both of these items were worth more than a dollar and were individual gifts not cookie cutter gifts.

Sometimes buying gifts for people means hunting and gathering. Looking for gifts in the places you least expect them. When you see something that is really great and at a great price – buy it even if you don’t have a specific person to give it to, especially if the gift is reasonable and you know that you will need a gift for someone. If you see an item and know that you would never give it to anyone, don’t buy it.