 TITLE: How to Save 500 Dollars In Time For Christmas CONTENT: ###### Written by: Kristy Welsh\n_Last Updated: September 11, 2017_\nWould you like to build up your holiday gift budget in just a few short months? Would an extra $500 or more in your pocket in December make a big difference to your Christmas shopping? By making a few adjustments to your budget now, you could save enough money to be able to buy the things you want for your family and friends.\nThe following tips are easy ways to save money, and cut expenditure from your daily budget. Start off by opening a separate savings account and deposit $50 into it right away. This account will only be used for your Christmas fund. Then, by following these tips, you will quickly be able to save at least $500 before Christmas.\nEliminate One Meal Out Each Week\n--------------------------------\nMany people purchase their lunch every day at work. This cost ranges from $5 to $6 per day, or between $25 and $30 per week. Cutting back to just **one** restaurant lunch per week can save you up to $260 in a year.\nReduce Your TV Service for Two Months\n-------------------------------------\nIf you reduce your cable package by $25 a month or cut out a premium channel or two, that might save another $25 to $50 a month. You could save even more if you get rid of cable all together! What's so wrong with watching just the local channels.\n### Coffee\nThe daily coffee can be quite an expense, especially if you have two or three cups a day from the local Starbucks. Try limiting yourself to one cup a day as a treat, or even not buying a coffee every single day. If you can save just $2.50 per day on coffee, you will save $10 a week. If this is a sacrifice you could commit to for a short time, it could make a real difference to your Christmas this year.\n### Groceries\nWhen budgeting for groceries, you can work out how much you are generally spending per meal by dividing the total cost of your normal weekly grocery shop by the number of meals for your family in the week. If you currently spend $10 per meal on average, try reducing this to $8 per meal.\nYou may try a cheaper cut of meat, or limit the amount of extras you purchase at the grocery store. Try not to shop when you are hungry because you tend to put more in your shopping cart at those times. If you can just save $2 per main meal, you could save about $14 a week.\n### Entertainment at Home Instead of Going Out\nInstead of eating out or going out to the movies, try to find cheaper entertainment options for the next couple of months. There are usually free activities in every council area every month. Find out what they are and have fun free.\nGoing to a museum can be a cheap day out for the whole family, rather than paying for movie tickets. If you do go to the movies, try to go on the cheaper day or use a movie deal voucher. Avoid the expensive food in the movie snack bar and bring in your own snacks from home.\nIf you would normally spend $100 on entertainment in a month, reduce it to $75 or $50. The more you save, the better your December will be!\n### Savings Add Up\nBy making some simple changes to your budget NOW, you can plan to have a terrific Christmas. There are plenty of other ways to save money. Just look at what you are currently spending on any one item and try to reduce it by a few dollars each week. Those dollars add up quickly.\nUsing the examples above, a family could save $25 a week on work lunches (and $50 if both parents work) by cutting $5 a day from their lunch budget. This will put between $250 and $500 into your Christmas account, if you can make the savings for 10 weeks in a row.\nSaving $10 a week on coffee is another $100, and cutting the grocery bill by $14 per week is another $140. Families can save $100 on fuel between now and Christmas and could save another $100 or so on entertainment. Adding these savings together, an average family could save about $690 between now and Christmas. This will make your Christmas a very merry one indeed. END