With tariffs raising prices for many holiday purchases, and a lukewarm labor market leaving many people uneasy about their income security, you’re not alone if you’re closely watching your spending this holiday season.
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While it’s easy to get caught up in the Christmas spirit, that doesn’t have to mean blowing up your budget. Sometimes social media influences you to spend more, but lots of posts also hold valuable lessons for saving money.
Here are five hacks from TikTok to help make your holiday spending more palatable.
Enough Is Enough
As much as you might be tempted to buy cute holiday items or get pulled in by sales, the ultimate savings strategy is to simply avoid spending money on stuff you don’t need. As @katiaachesnok shared, so much holiday stuff is basically junk that you’re going to throw out soon anyway, so don’t waste your money on.
Instead, try to remind yourself that you have enough already. Look through your house first, she said, and you’ll probably find enough decorations stuffed in your garage, closet, etc. If you really want more, ask family and friends, who are probably happy to get rid of stuff they’ve accumulated over the years.
Thrift on Discount Days
Buying secondhand gifts and holiday decor can be less expensive than buying new items, but it can still add up. One simple yet effective savings strategy is to get to know your local thrift stores and follow them on social media, suggested @thatgenzwife. That way, she explained, you can know when these stores have days when all or a lot of items are heavily discounted, like certain color-coded tag days, where tags with a given color correspond to a certain discount.
Again, you don’t want to buy stuff you don’t need just because it’s on sale, but if you are intent on shopping, you can save a lot by selectively shopping these discount days. Relatedly, she explained, antique stores sometimes have big discounts when cycling their inventory.
Shop Costco Gift Sets
If you’re looking for relatively easy and affordable gifts, consider stocking up at Costco. Aside from holiday-themed food, you can find nice gifts like beauty kits for under $25, as @ariellecalimquim shared on TikTok.
Costco generally limits markups to 14-15% above the price it pays to suppliers, so you can usually be confident that you’re getting good deals. Still, you want to avoid spending money on holiday gifts or decor you don’t need.
Use the Envelope Method
The envelope method is a popular budgeting method, where you separate savings into different envelopes for different purposes. This could be done virtually through a budgeting app like YNAB, but some people prefer a physical envelope system, which could be used to set money aside for the holidays. While it might be a little late to do so this year, you can always get a jump on saving for 2026.
Physical binders with various themes and budgeting challenges are often popular on TikTok, like this Grinch one that @itzselisashop uses. Filling up the different parts of the binder can make saving money for the holidays feel more like a game, which can help you stay motivated. By setting the money aside in the envelopes, you then might be less tempted to use those funds until it’s time to shop for the holidays.
Create a Christmas Club Account
Similar to the philosophy behind the envelope method, you can create a separate bank account known as a Christmas Club or Holiday Club account. As @iamthatenglishteacher explained, this is an old-fashioned strategy, where after Christmas, you start a savings account where you deposit a small amount every week until the following holiday season.
There might be a few weeks where you don’t contribute, like during a summer vacation, and you don’t necessarily have 52 weeks to save, as you’ll generally pull the money out to shop before the holidays start. Still, even something small like $5 per week for 40 weeks gives you an extra $200 to spend or gift.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 5 TikTok Hacks for Holiday Savings
