Holidays generate a lot of anticipation and involve a lot of decorating, meals, and energy use. As such, people tend to get so caught up in the festivities that they forget to be sustainable. Don’t get me wrong, holidays are amazing but there is life afterwards that can get pretty tough if you don’t find ways to save money during the holiday season. Responsible holiday shopping is as much fun with the added advantage of ensuring that you will continue living comfortably afterwards without feeling as if you lost all the money during this season. To exercise wisdom for this holiday season, here are five sustainable ways to save money while still enjoying the festive season:

Stay within a Budget

Budget both your money and time. After all, the earlier you shop for presents, decorations and other items necessary for the holiday season, the better the bargains and this can help you save some money. On the other hand, budgeting will help you see just how much you can spend. You can then go analyze your budget and cut the unnecessary expenditures to save even more. A budget is must to create long term saving solutions in the home.

Reuse and Repurpose

This is not only environmentally friendly but also saves money. For example you can use previous cards to cut out gift tags. You can also use old newspapers to wrap gifts, but decorate them in a creative way first. Other things that can be repurposed include old wine bottles as vases or lighting fixtures, glasses as candle holders and newspaper snowflakes to act as decorations. Reusing decorations and accessories that are still in good condition is also a sustainable way to save money.

Send e-cards

Know how to save some money and still be creative? Send e-cards. With e-cards, you can still catch up with family regardless of where they are. Show your creativity by creating personalized e-cards and save on postage money. E-cards are cheap and effective compared to physical cards.

Save Energy

Be sure and use solar power or switch to LED bulbs to save on energy. Be sure to buy string lights that do not use up as much energy in order to save power. The lesser amounts of energy you use during this holiday season will definitely lower your electric bill.

Choose Meaning over Glitz

The holiday seasons tend to emphasize the glitz in today’s world and can also highlight consumerism over meaning. Ensure your family knows that family, purpose and tradition always trumps the glitz and materialism. Cherish gestures and family as opposed to valuing expensive gifts. You will therefore gift more thoughtful and personalized items. Inexpensive gifts can mean a lot more with the added sustainable benefit of saving money!