Sunday: Holiday budgeting saves money on shopping
BY LAURIE WINSLOW World Staff Writer
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Lori Sears gets creative around the Christmas holidays.
She sometimes sews gift bags for friends at Christmas and fills them with baked goods or makes strawberry, pepper or grape preserves.
In one Saturday afternoon, she can knock out 30 gifts that are as economical as they are meaningful.
“It gets me into the spirit of actually giving,” she said. “I’m giving my time. I’m making something. It’s nourishing for other people, and that really does put me into the spirit. That sounds kind of Pollyanna.”
Sears, who works as the manager of international intellectual property services at GableGotwals, gets gifts for about 50 people each year, generally spending less than $500. She saves by setting a holiday budget at the start of the year, setting money aside monthly and being on the lookout for gifts year-round.
Her specific approach to holiday spending and saving is something that consumer experts wish more people would embrace.
But with Black Friday and Christmas just around the bend, shoppers can easily succumb to impulse buys and splurges in the rush to meet that Dec. 25 deadline.
Read more in Sunday's Tulsa World.
Associated Images:
Lori Sears sits with a sample of the Christmas gift bags she makes at her home in Tulsa on Wednesday. The bags help Sears keep her Christmas spending at a manageable level. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World
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