As a single parent you only have one income to depend on.  Yes, you may get child support.  But, at the end of the day you are head of house hold.

When you have dependents depending on you it’s rough.  How do you go about making their Christmas fabulous without going broke and accumulating uncontrollable debt?

I have been a single parent for many years.  I’ve struggled to make ends meet.  Factoring in the expenses of the holidays adds on an entire new struggle.

How have I managed?  And how can you do the same?

Read my list of different ideas that could save you money for the coming holidays as a single mom (other mom’s may also benefit from the list and some dad’s too).

Start Saving Up Money Early In October

Put away $20 a week every week until Christmas.

This is what I did one Christmas and it worked like a charm.  I had close to $300 by Christmas.

Need more?  Start stashing money away sooner or up the amount.

You might ask yourself but, if I’m struggling daily how am I supposed to find extra money to stash?

Take it out of your pay before you have a chance to spend it.  Think of it as transferring money.  You’re just moving it from one place to another placing it in a safe place–your savings account.

When you handle the money this way you won’t even notice it’s gone.

Take Advantage Of Clearance Racks In September

Every end of season has a huge clearance sale.  The end of September has three:  summer, school supplies and college paraphernalia.

These three provide different products kids need and want.  Of course you don’t want to give school supplies as a Christmas gift.  However, if you have a blossoming artist crayons, art sets, markers and other artsy items might be on clearance.

The biggest clearance items for sale around this time are the college items. Plenty of electronics are on sale during this time too.  You can stack up on sheets, comforters and cute room furniture and plenty other cool items that would be delightful gifts especially for a tween or teen.

Don’t Over Look Layaway

Plenty of retailers offer layaway plans.  Layaway is when a store offers the option to hold your merchandise for a period of time for a small fee while you make scheduled payments.

Stores allow customers to layaway toys, electronics, furniture, jewelry, clothes and just about anything else stocked in the store.

Layaway is a great option because as you get paid you can set aside a small amount and pay little by little without going over budget.

Keep An Eye Out For Sales And Coupons

There are good sales and bad sales.  So know the difference before you take advantage of a sale.

A bad sale is when an item is overpriced and 10 % off.  When you know you can find that exact same item at another store for half the price.

Don’t fall for bad sales.  It’s just a waste of money.

When you do find a good sale see if you can find a coupon to double your savings.  JC Penney, Macy’s and Kohl’s are three retailers with excellent coupons that I frequently shop at.  And you can use these merchants’ coupons online as well.

If you shop through Ebates.com you can actually earn cash while you shop (they send you a check in the mail).

Shop On Black Friday

Everyone knows right after thanksgiving Black Friday starts.  This is a time when stores offer large discounts on many of their merchandise. 

Especially toys and electronics.

Save up your pennies weeks in advance to take full advantage of Black Friday shopping.  To get the best deals scan online and the store ads in the newspapers.  Make sure it’s a true Black Friday sale before ambushing the store.

This is also a good time to stack up on computers and cell phone deals.

Overtime, Bonuses, Seasonal Work And Selling Your Stuff

Some companies have plenty of overtime available and Christmas bonus around the holiday seasons.  When you receive this extra pay simply put it to the side for gifts and other holiday essentials.

Apply for a seasonal position if your employer doesn’t offer overtime.  Plus, you can take advantage of the employee discount.

Need another idea to make extra money?  Try selling the stuff around your house!

Gather everyone’s gently used and new stuff stuffed in the closets taking up space.  Look into how to sell on eBay, Amazon, Craigslist and Facebook Market.  Since this is the shopping season they should sell pretty quickly.

Buy Discount Gift Cards Online

Gift cards now a days are a very popular form of gift giving.  They’re easy, convenient and the person receiving the gift can get exactly what they want.  It’s a double win for everyone.

Since they’re not really a personal gift you can always use gift cards as a stocking stuffer in small amounts.  Cards are also a great gift for a picky teenager.

If you want to get full price gift cards but not pay the full price to purchase the card, visit Raise.com.

This is a website where you can buy various types of gift cards for discount prices from many popular clothing retailers to restaurants and even online merchants.

Visit Raise.com for Discounted Gift Cards.

Drive For Lyft And Shop With Shipt

Try a side hustle to make extra cash for this holiday season.  This is how I’m bringing in extra money this year.

Both are easy to sign up for and start.  Lyft is a rideshare service.  You simply pick up and drive individuals to their destinations.   All of the money is exchanged through the app so, you don’t have to handle cash.

Shipt is another way to earn cash on the side.  Basically you just grocery shop for others and deliver the groceries to their home and get paid.  Again all money is exchanged through the app.

Don’t like to drive?  You can download an app called Ibotta.  It’s a way to gain money from rebates after you shop.  You can receive $10 for signing up under my referral link here.

 Closing

Don’t go into debt this Christmas by over buying and over spending on your kids without a solid plan.  Being a single parent is hard work and you want the best for your little ones.

The tips I mention are easy to start.  So go ahead and try one or two or all to give your little darlings the finest holiday season ever.

How do you plan to save for Christmas?