The holiday season is about happiness and love, and there’s no better way to share that than giving someone a gift that they would love to have. But all the excitement about buying the “big” gift can ruin your Christmas budget as you run to the store and overspend, leaving you a crushed heap of debt by the time January comes.

The good news here is the “perfect” gift has nothing to do with the price point; the perfect gift is about the meaning, the relevance, and the effort behind it. This year, believe it or not, you can actually pick out gifts that are ridiculously cheap and that everyone will appreciate.

Here are some savvy ways and tips for shopping for gifts during the holiday season that will all save you money and make the gift worth giving.

1. Plan Ahead: Your Best Defense Against Overspending

The number one threat to your holiday budget is impulse buying. The answer to impulse buying is to plan ahead. 

• Audit your list & set limits: Long before you start shopping, create a comprehensive list of everyone you are planning to buy for, and then assign a spending limit to each person with explicit limits. 
• This will serve as your spending limit, for example: 
  • Immediate family: $X 
  • Extended Family/Friends: $Y
  • Coworkers/neighbors: $Z
• Digitally Track Your Budget: Start tracking each purchase as soon as you buy it, either using a simple spreadsheet or a Christmas app budgeting tool. Witnessing your budget shrink in real-time is the best way to combat the impulse to buy "just one more gift"!
• Shop All Year Round: The best way to get budget-friendly Christmas gifts is to buy them when they are out of season! Buy toys, or electronics, or clothing (for example) when you see them on sale, or when stores are clearing inventory (during summer sales or holiday clearance). Store the gift until December!

2. Change Your Mindset: Thoughtful vs Expensive

Some of the most meaningful gifts are actually some of the cheapest! Spend more time creating thoughtful gifts that demonstrate you know that person fairly well. 

• The power of personalization: A handwritten compilation of recipes, a printed photo of the two of you, and a gift of a playlist with meaning. All of those will cost almost nothing, and are simply thoughtful. These are all things that we tend to keep and remember long after a gift is bought at mass retail. 
• The gift of time or skills: you can offer your time as a "coupon" to provide a service as your gift. These might include: 
  • A commitment to babysit for 3 date nights.
  • A session where you teach a detailed lesson on a hobby (ex., baking, photography).
  • A weekend spent doing yard work for someone (mowing the lawn, trimming the bushes, etc.). 
  • Value: High. Cost: Almost zero.
• The "Experience" Gift: Instead of a physical gift, use your monetary investment on an experience instead. As examples, new location museum tickets, a home-cooked dinner party, or an outing for the day. Giving gifts that emphasize time spent together as part of the holiday gifting will immeasurably support those bonds more than the object.

3. Smart Shopping: Become a Not-So-Hidden Deal-Hunter 

When you give a physical gift, become a tactical shopper to help your dollar stretch further.

• Collective Gifts: If you are dealing with large families or friends, indicate a Secret Santa or White Elephant gift. This way everyone buys one large gift instead of numerous unmemorable small gifts.
• Use secondhand and refurbished: Depending on the item, hunt and look at reputable secondhand and refurbished items. Electronics, designer items, child toys—the list goes on, and there are often secondhand and refurbished marketplaces of trusted items where you often can buy a high-quality item and save a lot of money, again making it a great gift for someone on a budget.
• Discounts: Never pay retail price. Manufacturer coupons too—take advantage of the store loyalty points, and depending on your area, use cash back apps. Before the day of shopping, sign up for the store's email list, and you more times than not will receive a discount in the welcome email; of course, immediately unsubscribe thereafter.

If you put effort into planning ahead, select gifts that are useful and have meaning, and are a savvy gift-buying consumer, you can find appropriate gifts for Christmas that are appreciated? and fit the budget.