How To Have A Less Expensive Christmas

by Liz Heather in

Do I have wish I had thousands of dollars to spend on Christmas? Fuck yes! Is that a plausible reality?

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Technically I have three jobs at the moment, but neither of them are crazy lucrative so HERE I BE. About to blow your mind with some money saving ideas for the next two months (ie. the most expensive two months of the entire year, arguably). BEHOLD.

  1. If you share a certain amount of friends in common, do a Secret Santa exchange within that group. It saves so much money not to buy all those individual gifts, it's insane.
  2. Make a ton of holiday cookies/candies/brownies & individually sized gift boxes with Christmas tissue wrap from Dollarama to house them in. I've done this a few times over the years when money is tight, and people seem to be into it. Also, food gifts are the best gifts. I love a gift that doesn't necessarily have to sit atop my bedroom dresser for the rest of time. EAT THAT GIFT.
  3. Try to buy as many gifts as you can on the week of Cyber Monday (I've noticed that Cyber Monday deals last the entire week). The deals are sometimes better than Black Friday, and there's so, so much more comfort involved.
  4. Instead of buying new holiday dresses, BORROW from your close friends and vice versa. Is this too frugal? Oh sorry, MILLIONAIRE. I thought you were here for cheap-ass ideas. Gorgeous dresses were meant to be worn as much as possible, and a true friend ain't gonna judge you for suggesting to swap for an event. 
  5. Take advantage of so many free things to do this time of year: putting up Christmas lights, decorating your tree, making hot chocolate and taking it on a walk through your neighborhood, watching/streaming old Christmas movies, calling someone you haven't talked to in a long time, volunteering, donating anything you don't have any use for anymore, LITERALLY SO MANY THINGS.
  6. See less people over the holiday season! Haha, I'm kidding...? I mean, if you see less of them, expectations on giving gifts drastically falls. So this one kind of makes sense. Something that also works? Send a Christmas card. The card acts as your way of keeping in touch, but not having to spend money on dinner/gift/drinks/etc. This one sounds harsh, but it's sort of genius, said the person who came up with it.
  7. Spend more time with your family. Your family never wants to go out and spend money, right? Maybe that's a Caribbean thing.

I could tell you to just stick to a budget throughout the holidays, but I never find that helpful because I'm too easy of a target when it comes to spontaneous shopping. In any case, it is completely possible to not be 1000% broke once the holidays are over. 

Smell Based Alarm Clock

by Liz Heather in

Paris-based entrepreneur Guillaume Rolland has invented the “SensorWake,” the world’s first scented alarm clock that will wake you up using smell instead of sound.

You can choose from a wide assortment of scents, like coffee, croissants, the ocean, or even the smell of money. Even Google recognizes its potential, awarding it as one of the top 15 inventions “that can change the world” at the 2014 Google Science Fair." You can fund it on Kickstarter, if you so please. 

Amazing.

Cheap Movie Days

by Liz Heather in ,

Movies ain't cheap. Here's a guide on the cheapest times to go.

Regal Cinemas (get their free membership card, it's worth it)

  • Offers an economy ticket  for $10.50, which is only valid on any showtime before 4 pm, Monday through Thursday (except holidays.) Plus, the film must have been in release for at least 10 days.  IMAX & RPX are excluded, too.

AMC Theatres (don't get their membership, it's $12/year)

  • $8 tickets - on all movies, every day before 12pm.

Cineplex Entertainment (get their membership Scene card, it's definitely worth it)

  • On Tuesdays, tickets are $6.50, which is nuts.
  • And if you're a CAA member, you can get tickets for $9.83 (CDN) each when you buy them in advance of a movie at a CAA location. More about that here. 

Bonus Tip: Use your student card whenever you can! I still do and it works.