Cheap gift ideas for those who are on a tight budget!
Being Frugal and/or Minimal are great ways to live ( Check out 101 ways to be frugal this year here ), you learn to enjoy the more little things in life instead of the materialistic.
It also helps makes your budget much easier to manage and you can spend more on family fun and life experiences, because well, we only live once!
So how would one spread this great new way of living? By purchasing gifts that are frugal and/or minimal and hope they enjoy them so much it gives them a boost of inspiration.
Another reason is simply to help you save some money during the holiday season or on special occasions.
I remember hating buying gifts, I never knew what to purchase for others, not to mention I then had to run to the dollar store and buy a gift bag, tissue paper, AND a card. FEW, that is a ton of extra sh!t that no one really needs.
I don’t know about you but I hate getting cards, I don’t know what to do with them. If I save them they end up taking a bunch of precious drawer space or I toss them in the trash and cringe because of the needless waste plus I feel bad for tossing their card.
If this hits home at all then these gift ideas are something you will enjoy.
Frugal Gifts! Ideas For Any Occasion!
1. Subscription Boxes:
Before you say this isn’t really frugal, let me explain!
Most subscription boxes offer a discount on their first month such as Fab Fit Fun now once you sign up for the first month you can unsubscribe if you wish.
Get $10 off your first box by clicking here and using the code FAB10
Once you get the box divide the items up for gifts to give to family and friends! Easy and simple way to give a gift and save money in the process.
Example: In your box you will get about 5 FULL SIZE items all high end stuff! If you can divide them up that would be 5 people off your list! Below is someone unboxing a fall box for this year 2020!
2. Electronic Gift Cards:
This is my favorite Frugal gift, the sky is the limit for this amazing gift! Even if you wanted to give a physical gift card you are still cutting out all that useless stuff I mentioned above.
Some examples are:
- Movie theater tickets
- Favorite Restaurants
- Bowling
- Zoo
- Netflix
Just think of something they can use and/or is fun! Also if you are looking to give a larger gift purchase a years pass to the theater or zoo etc. I know I would love either!
Example: Every year my mom gifts my pre-teen son Xbox Live pass for the year. He is happy and so am I for cutting out another monthly charge!
Let me know your ideas for Gift Cards in the comments!
3. Wine or Booze:
If you have someone who likes to indulge in some alcohol then why not buy them a nice bottle of wine and toss a little ribbon around it.
One of my common gifts to some of my male family members is a case of beer, I don’t even ribbon those ones I just drop it off and save them a trip themselves.
4. Basket of Goodies:
Some may argue that this isn’t Frugal or Minimal but I love them! Buy a small wicker basket heck make it a waste basket then they can re use it for sure, or if you’re feeling generous a laundry basket.
Fill the basket with things you know they love and use, such as gift cards, treats, socks, coffee, movies, cheese, literally anything! Throughout the year I stock up on a few of those items for my immediate family and put together baskets for Christmas.
5. Baked Goods:
Umm who wouldn’t love some homemade baked goods? Probably no one, unless you’re the Grinch I dunno.
Baked goods are another one of my favorite gift ideas, especially Christmas time!
One thing I noticed a lot of people liked was homemade baked bread, not many do this anymore so it is a great gesture.
Some other ideas:
- Peanut butter balls
- Frog cookies
- Peanut butter cookies
- Fudge
6. Favor Exchange Cards:
I wasn’t sure what to call this exactly so favor exchange cards is what I came up with, basically you create your own gift card that you have to honor, so make sure it is something you will actually do.
Some examples are:
- Free night babysitting
- Free dinner meal cooked by yours truly
- Free house cleaning
- free back rub
- free sleep in day
anything you can think of that your partner, family, or friends might enjoy.
7. DIY Gifts:
Making your own frugal gifts is an awesome way to be frugal, if you can knit or crotchet then put that to use! I love getting quilts! You can also check out Pinterest to get some great ideas for any occasion, I know bath bombs are on my list for this Christmas.
I am also making my homemade cleaning products using essential oils for gifts this year! (2020)
8. Groceries and meal plan:
This one might seem a bit personal so I would reserve it for maybe your siblings or parents. Cook some meals for someone, freezer meal ideas would probably be best. You can meal plan for a week or even a few days. I am sure they will be grateful either way!
If you aren’t super creative the $5 meal plan would also make an amazing gift.
9. Spend Time Together:
This should be the easiest frugal gift ever but actually we get so caught up in our own daily lives we tend to sacrifice spending quality time with our family members that we don’t live with. Making a plan to just go out together for a meal or to have a BBQ get-together would be a great gift!
There you have it, that is my list of frugal gifts for now! I will come back once in a while and add some more, also please feel free to leave your ideas in the comments, we could all use more tips!