Saving Money for the Holidays

The holidays can be so stressful. There's increased traffic, cars and people wise which doesn't help the fact that you're probably spending a lot more money than you otherwise would any other time of the year. Sit back, take a deep breath. In deep and out and tell yourself you're gonna save some money. I'm going to share some simple tips on how you can do just that.

1. Coupons work year around. Add these to the sales that are going on as a result of stiff competition for your money and you can come out on top.

2. Black Friday's gone, but hey, chances are you're reading this on Cyber Monday. Catch those deals!! But don't go in blind. Get yourself a game plan together so you don't overspend. Figure first how much money you'll have to spare and then virtually shop around to find out who has the best deals for what you want.

3. If you're like me, you have a big family and a tight budget. Think gift exchange. You know like the ones they do at work or church where everyone's name is put into a hat or bag and each pulls out the name for whom they'll buy a gift. This works for family as well and this way no one's under too much pressure to spend more than you have trying to please everyone. Remember, holidays should be more spending time together than getting in over your head in debt.

4. Check out money saving sites such as ConsumerQueen, Spoofee, Slickdeals and Fatwallet where not only moderators, but everyday people like yourself who also want to save some money come in and add deals and even more ways that you can save such as where to go specifically or how you can combine this or that offer to save even more, team effort.

5. I've personally been trying to win some prizes to help out for the holidays, and let me tell you i've actually had a bit of success. Speaking of winning check out Twittermoms and be one of the first 50 bloggers to share your money saving tips and you could win a $25 gift card to Staples and also an additional chance to be randomly selected to win one of ten for $100. Also be sure to check out Staples website for some additional holiday money saving deals.