Holiday shopping during inflation feels like you can’t escape the high price tags anywhere, which can be stressful. The situation gets even more complicated if you have a large Mexican-American family like mine. There are at least ten people I have to buy gifts for every year. Siblings, siblings-in-law, in-laws, parents, nieces, and nephews. I’m also a freelancer and know living that freelancer life can be challenging because sometimes client projects don’t work out. So how can you get everyone that perfect gift and not go broke?

Be honest about your budget:

How much money can you spend on each person? Stick to that budget.

Start holiday gift shopping early:

Ideally, you should have most of it done by the time you read this. The closer you get to Christmas, the higher items go. So start early.

Do Secret Santa with the adults:

This is the first year my siblings and I are doing Secret Santa. This means instead of buying six gifts (three siblings and three significant others) I just have to buy one. This will save a lot of money.

Provide your loved ones a “take care of me” list:

This is great if people are not gifted buyers. Let them know how they can make your life easier, and their gift can be simple, like paying for your oil change, buying groceries for you for a day, or watching your kids for an evening.

Divide up grocery shopping:

Okay, I was going to say, divide up the cooking, but let’s be honest, there is usually one or two people that must do the cooking. Help everyone out with the costs by dividing up the grocery shopping. One person buys breakfast items; another family member purchases lunch; another covers dinner, and so on. By doing so, we distribute those annoying food bills evenly.

Make homemade gifts:

I suggest you do this if you are crafty. Don’t do this because it was on your bucket list to be crafty. My favorite gifts have been homemade: a knitted hat, homemade jam, a bookmark with a personal note, and a picture frame.

Remember, it’s the season to be with loved ones and to find life’s joy. But, there are better ways to spend money.