What are the easy-to-do money saving tips for Christmas time?

At this time, you may be asking yourself this very same question. With household budget taking in most of your take-home pay, you find it difficult to put aside even a small amount...but what about the coming Christmas? You cannot afford to miss the holiday fun.

According to a Gallup poll last year, Americans were expecting that they will spend an average of $786 on Christmas gifts. To be able to raise this sum - or at least a little lower than this - check these steps:

1. Review your monthly expenses. You may be spending on some things that you think are needed but can actually live without. For instance, you want your family to live a healthy lifestyle that some of your members are enrolled in gyms. Try to think about the money that you spend here. You may find ways to reduce or totally eliminate this.

2. Open a different savings account from the same bank where your salary is being deposited every payday. Set up an automatic transfer to this account so you will not be able to see that certain amount and therefore will not include it in your monthly expenditures.

3. Another money-saving tip for Christmas is to get an extra job. Your neighbor needs someone to look after their children for a few hours. You may want to take this job as it will help you earn extra cash. You may also consider looking for online work. Just beware of scammers.

4. Start going to discount stores. Buy grocery items where they are offered cheaper. You may want to compare prices. Likewise, refrain from buying things that are not necessary. To do this, start creating to-buy list before grocery shopping.

5. Check things that are necessities but are just stored somewhere in the corners of your home. Sell them and deposit the cash to your savings account. This is an effective money-saving tip for Christmas that is often ignored.