Frugal Holiday Tips

Our bodies are amazing. Really! I know every single woman (and man!) has things they don’t like about themselves, but our bodies can do so many amazing things that totally override whatever minute flaws we find in ourselves in our obsessive critiquing. One such amazing thing? The fact that our bodies will guide us in healthy choices if we listen! After my carb-centered lunch/snacks yesterday, my body felt off balance and I could really feel my body desiring the wholesome energy that I get from whole foods. Hence the salad last night, the fruit for dessert, and a green smoothie for breakfast this morning. My body craved those things! There is truly no need for a dietary regime, crash diets, overtime at the gym, or even a back on track month. Listen to your body – it’s the only guide you need, and it’s your body so it will tell you what you specifically need!

This morning’s green smoothie contained:

• 1 cup vanilla rice milk
• a handful of frozen blueberries
• a few frozen mango segments
• a few frozen pineapple segments
• 1 Tablespoon chocolate brown rice protein powder
• TONS of spinach (about 4 cups, maybe more?)
• ice

I topped my smoothie with a quarter cup serving of granola. (I used this Bear Naked Triple Berry Crunch Granola.)

I want to institute a new little “tip line” leading up to Christmas. I know many people are on a budget, whether it be because of unemployment, being in college, dealing with debt, or just being frugal and financially responsible. Yet it is so easy to get caught up in the giving nature of the season and hunting down that perfect gift for each loved one, that sometimes budget gets thrown out the window. Not to mention the costs of holiday greeting cards, postage, Christmas cookies, travel, holiday food, parties and more! So I’ll occasionally be throwing in frugal holiday tips to my posts as I remind myself of ways to keep my own holiday season within budget.

Frugal Holiday Tip #1

Go over your budget and see what you can truly afford in regards to gifts. If you find that you can’t afford any gifts, that is ok. Make a few Christmas cookies to share with your loved ones and inform everyone well in advance that you won’t be able to afford gifts this year. Ross and I had to do this last year. We had just gotten married five months earlier, I was going on six months of unemployment and we could not swing getting gifts. It was hard (I love shopping for Christmas gifts!) but by letting everyone know far in advance that we couldn’t afford material gifts and that our gift would be traveling to be with our families, everyone was understanding. We also told our families and friends that we in no way were expecting gifts. This way, on Christmas morning, there were no awkward feelings of, “well I got you a gift, where’s my gift?”