Save Money During the Holidays to Buy Your Dream Home in the New Year

Make the most of your gift budget

• Agree on a spending limit on gifts for friends and family—and stick to it.
• To prevent overspending, leave your credit cards at home and use cash for purchases.  
• Unable to use cash for everything? Use a single low-interest credit card—you can easily keep track of what you need to pay off, and it won't rack up enormous interest in the meantime. 
• If gifts are cheaper online than in the store (which is often the case if you're using coupon trackers, such as RetailMeNot or Honey), buy them online and have them shipped directly to the recipient.
• For young children, quantity is often just as important as quality. Wrap small, inexpensive items separately and include hand-me-down toys as gifts to fill space under the tree.

Stretch your holiday dollar

• Save money by making potluck-style holiday meals and assigning each guest an item to bring.
• Instead of holiday gift wrap, buy solid-colored gift wrap in traditional holiday colors such as red, green, or gold. These can be used all year for any occasion.   
• To keep your electricity bill down, use a timer to turn outdoor lights on and off at designated hours. 
• Traveling during the holidays? Flying on the actual holiday is often cheaper, with plenty of seats available.