tips — Blog — Style Nest Interiors

With Christmas right around the corner, it's time for some Christmas shopping. I've put together a list of some great money saving tips to help you not break the bank this season. I'm all about decorating on a budget and affortable fashion, both for yourself and your home. So, when it comes to Christmas shopping I'm all about getting a great deal. Here are some of my favorite ways to save money around the holidays.

1. Shop Online

There are so many deals that different stores have around this time of year that are online only. Target and Old Navy are two stores that come to mind for these types of deals. Be sure to check stores' websites before you head out, there may be a great online only deal. Plus you get to shop in your PJ and avoid lines. WIN!

2. Target Cartwheel

If you're not using Target's Cartwheel App you need to be. I use this every time I go to Target, which is a lot. Our Target has groceries too so that's where I do a lot of my grocery shopping and the Cartwheel app has saved me a lot of money. All you do is scan the item in the app and it will tell you if there is a deal on it or not. You need this app. Trust me.

3. Target Gift Cards

Target often has sales where if you buy a certain number of something you get a $5 or $10 gift card. For example, there may be a deal where if you buy 3 Tide, Gain, Bounty or Charmin items as signed you will get a $5 gift card. You can then use that $5 gift card on a Christmas gift. If you do this throughout the year, you can have a stash of these gift cards saved up to do your Christmas shopping with.

4. Search Online for Discount Codes

Every time I shop online I search for discount codes from that store. For example, if I'm shopping at Ulta.com I will search online for Ulta coupon codes. A lot of times Retail Me Not will have some codes that work. I don't buy anything online without doing this.

5. Budget

This may sound obvious, but it's something that is so important to do. We make a budget all year round, not just for Christmas. But, if you don't do it for each month, at least try it for Christmas gifts. Set a spending limit for each person you're buying for, and stick to it! Writing it down or doing a spreadsheet on the computer will keep you accountable. Each time you buy a gift, record it in the budget. You can then see how much you have left to spend on each person. This is a great way to keep track of what you've spent so you don't go over budget.

All of these tips can be used all year round, but especially around Christmas time! I hope they help you save some extra money this year!

Thanks for reading!

We've moved! We are so excited to be home owners and I am so excited to get to decorating our home!

Moving can be stressful. When we moved to California it was right after we got married and John was already living out there so his stuff was already there. We needed to have all of my stuff moved and all of our wedding gifts.

This is where my first tip comes in. Make sure you hire a reputable moving company. We chose a moving company without looking at the reviews. BIG MISTAKE. My stuff ended up taking around 2 months to arrive! We would call frequently to find out where it was and when the estimated date of delivery was, and we got the response "I don't know where it is". Really? You don't know where ALL MY BELONGINGS ARE?! It turns out it never left Ohio. We ended up having my dad go pick it up from the warehouse where it was being stored and then having a more reliable moving company bring my stuff to California. Needless to say when we moved back to Ohio we made sure to book a reputable moving company, and we are so glad we did.

My next tip is for when you get your keys. Yay! You've signed your name a thousand times and now the house is yours! Next step, cleaning. This is my least favorite and favorite part. Cleaning, yuck. However, it gives the house a fresh start. When we moved in we had a few containers of Clorox wipes, a vacuum cleaner, and a carpet steamer we rented from Ace Hardware. I also lined all of our kitchen cabinets and drawers with contact paper. That is not easy and not fun but so worth it. I got about half way done and decided to just line them instead sticking the paper to the bottoms. Great idea!

My third tip is to label your boxes when you're moving. That way when the movers bring your stuff in they know where to put the boxes, and it makes unpaking easier. No need to search for your coffee mugs in a box filled with clothes!

I hope these tips helped! I will be posting some house pictures soon along with some changes we've made so far! Thanks for reading!