These dead simple gift ideas will help you stay under budget and are so thoughtful, you’ll get a silent “Thank you” mouthed from across the room.

1. Food Gifts
This is my favorite gift hack.  Seriously, we didn’t get to be one of the fattest nations on earth for no reason… we love food.  Especially if you’re a good cook, food gifts can be very affordable.  Gourmet coffee, fine chocolates, and hard-to-find craft beer can all be had for around $10 and say, “I get you”.

Want to up your game? Think re-packaging for super cheap gift ideas.  Throw some sugar, salt, and chili-powder on a pound of pecans, roast them in the oven at 350º for about 7 minutes, pour into 8oz mason jars, tie on a decorative ribbon and boom, $3 per gift.

2. Group Gifts
This is a super handy trick for cheap gift ideas for family or groups.  Let’s say you spend a modest $15 per person on a family of 5, you’re in for at least $75 bucks, but with the group gift hack, you can buy a board game for $30 bucks that brings family together and only costs you $6 bucks a person.  Another example is a gift card for an hour of Top Golf, costs $40 and covers six people(and it’s loads of fun), also about $6 per person.

The key to this hack is to think about common interests that bring the group together.

3. Sentimental Gifts
It’s hard to refute the power of sentiment.  I’ve never heard a grandparent say, this is a terrible photo of my grandkids, I’d like to exchange it.

Sentimental gifts work wonders on parents, grandparents, older (mature) children who appreciate the sentiment, and close friends.

Need some ideas? Some of the best gifts I’ve ever received were nicely framed photos, family heirlooms, or a hand-written, heart-felt card.

4. DIY Gifts
You don’t have to be a Pinterest guru to put together some DIY gifts this holiday.  Can you knit or crochet? Paint? Woodwork?

Whatever your skill set, often your time is cheaper than the money spent on retail items.  Not to mention, you get bonus sentimental points for DIY gifts.

5. Funny Gifts
When all else fails, make someone laugh.

A Squatty Potty, Drink Coasters with a cheesy photo of yourself, Custom Dog Outfit, Bathroom Trivia Book, you get the idea.

My personal favorite this year: A t-shirt with a huge photo of my dog’s face on it.

Bonus Hack!

Let’s get real, one of the simplest, cheapest gifts you can give, is the gift card, slightly more thoughtful than cash, much less thoughtful than a handcrafted rocking chair… so how can you jazz it up and still be considered thoughtful(while being frugal)? Personalize it.

Put that Starbucks gift card in a greeting card and write a message suggesting your favorite off-menu drink to try.

This adds a nice touch to an otherwise impersonal gift.

That’s all for now!

Have any hacks to share with fellow readers? We’d love to hear them.

The post Top 5 Dead Simple Cheap Gift Ideas appeared first on Coinage Personal Finance.

In 2016, shopper’s in the US plan to spend on average $929 dollars this year on gifts according to American Research Group, all while 55% of us are living paycheck to paycheck.

Where are we planning on getting this extra $929 bucks!?

Hopefully, the answer for all of our readers is preparedness.  I mean, every year we all know the holidays are coming, it’s not a surprise expense, so surely we don’t wait until the paycheck before to “get prepared” do we?

In our household, it’s real simple, we tally up the number of those near and dear to us and set a budget for each person, multiply, divide by the number of paychecks per year, and boom, budget.  Here’s an example:

12 loved ones x $50 per person = $600 for loved ones

Add in a little love for the wife and I…

2 x $150 = $300 for ourselves

So that’s $900 in gifts for the holiday season, now to budget:

$900 / 24 paychecks per year = $37.50 per paycheck

And there you go, definitely not down to the penny, but come every holiday season, we’re prepared to shower our family with gifts, and you can do this in advance with a little foresight.

Need an extra little budget hack? In our budget, we just take this number and double it in a category appropriately named “Gifts”.  Why? Birthdays! We figure, all the folks we buy for during the holidays, we’ll buy for on their birthday, why not be prepared!?

If you’re one of the readers that isn’t prepared this year(tisk tisk), we’d recommend these two guides to help you along your way:

• Top 5 Dead Simple Cheap Gift Ideas
• The Truth Behind 0% Interest Credit Cards

The post Preparing Financially for the Holidays appeared first on Coinage Personal Finance.