Money Maker 6: Holiday Shopping on the Cheap

[College kids are notorious for being poor. And why shouldn’t we be? We take out student loans to pay for private universities, can barely balance a part-time job with our full-time courseload, and the only “balance” we’re familiar with refers to the number of points left on our dining hall cards. Oh, did I mention many of us tend to splurge every extra penny on PBR’s at the campus bar?

By Kari

If you disagree with everything I just said, you probably don’t need this column. But if you’re nodding along because you’re officially an adult and still don’t know how to manage your money, then you might want to pay attention every week, because I’m going to (try to) get you through this, and make you a successful saver and a wise spender.]

Oh, crap. You just spent your holiday gift budget getting a little too happy at happy hour. You have less than three weeks to select, purchase, and wrap presents for your entire family and close circle of friends. Here are some ideas to keep you out of credit card debt (at least until March).

1. Photos

Classy portraits of yourself are a great, cheap gift for your family members, while buying cheap frames at the dollar store and stuffing them with the most memorable bar nights (that you obviously don’t remember) are great for friends.

If you’re going in the portrait-direction, see if you can hire a photography student to snap your photo for a small fee, and develop the pics in black and white for extra elegance. If you have siblings, go in on the cost of professional photography, and do family portraits. Sure, you’ll cringe every time you see the pics on your mother’s mantle, but on Christmas day, this sentimental gift is a guaranteed tear-jerker.

2. Free Gift Re-Gift.

Hey, we’re poor. Ain’t no shame in it. I recently got a gift bag at a party, and you can bet the eau de toillette I found inside will be unwrapped by my brother’s girlfriend this year. Besides, the holidays have gotten so commercialized that presents get increasingly more generic every year. So it’s totes easy to re-gift the Godiva chocolate assortment your roommate gave you to pretty much any member of your family that you forgot to buy a present for.

3. Do-it-Yourself Gifts

If it’s truly “the thought that counts,” then we’re in the clear for doling out cheesy, handmade gifts. Bake mass quantities of cookies and brownies and hand out platters to the girls on your floor; knit a scarf for your cousin and a blanket for your grandma. As a pseudo-artist, I can’t even tell you how many years I got away with calling paintings and pottery “presents.”

4. Your Achievements

An even easier direction is to recycle your schoolwork. In creative writing classes, I’ve written poems and non-fiction pieces about family members and gave them the original copies as gifts, complete with teacher’s raving comments. The first time I made straight A’s in college, I framed my grade report for my parents. My brother consistently gives my mom newspaper articles that feature his successful ass, and copies of awards he’s won (I hope my mom never expected diamonds and day-spas). The plus-side? If anyone dares call you cheap, you can argue that they don’t appreciate your many accomplishments. Who’s tacky, now, Aunt Fran?

5. School Shizz

Many universities have a special sale before the holidays, offering discounts at the bookstores so poor college kids can load up on university paraphernalia (and if your school doesn’t, you can always use your book buy-back cash!).

If the book store is still too expensive, give them the freebies you get: T-shirts from sporting events, mugs from signing up for credit cards, and whatever random crap you get when random campus organizations set up tables in the student union.

6. Work Perks.

If you can get anything at a discount price from work, that’s probably what all of your friends and family are getting for Christmas. The year I worked at Starbucks, my family got enough bags of coffee beans to keep them awake through 2045, plus a hosh posh of mugs that I got at a discount. If you work in retail, you’re golden.

Even if you do decide to take the traditional mall-route, see if any stores give student discounts to shoppers with ID. Hey, it can’t hurt. If anyone else has any suggestions on how to complete your holiday shopping without doubling your student debts, feel free to share!