Giving the perfect gift can be such a thrill… until you look at your bank account. When you’re aggressively repaying your student loan debt it can feel like every extra gift is pulling you farther away from financial freedom. That mindset can make you feel pretty grinchy!
Don’t worry, you can navigate Holiday gifting without completely derailing your student loan repayment strategy.
Read on for my solid strategies to avoid being a Scrooge without falling off the student loan repayment bandwagon.
Fair warning, this article is really designed for folks who are making extra monthly payments rather than just the minimum monthly payment. If you’re already making only the minimum monthly payment your budget is much tighter than the strategies in this article cater to.
Make every gift worth it.
If you’re going to buy gifts make them worth it. Don’t just buy someone something for the sake of doing it. Really try to find out what that person wants/needs and spend your money on that.
For example when buying gifts for your friends or family who have student loan debt of their own consider buying them something that alleviates another cost burden. You could consider gifting an annual membership fee to their professional organization or alumni organization. Boring, yea, but you’re helping them out and you can feel good about that.
It’s not all or nothing.
Extra student loan payments aren’t all or nothing. Just because you can’t make as large of an extra payment as usual doesn’t mean you can’t pay any extra. The “all or nothing” attitude will delay your repayment. It’s ok if you can only afford to throw an extra $50-100 at your loans this month. That’s still some progress.
Map out your gift-giving.
Come up with a gift giving plan that includes all the people you need to get gifts for, how much you want to spend, and then an extra mystery gift for in case you forgot someone! This way you can decide how much you’ll be spending and you can hold yourself accountable for making even a little bit of an extra payment.
Size does not matter.
Think small and meaningful gifts rather than extravagant and expensive. Your student loan debt repayment is important to you. This means during the holidays you need to take a little extra time to carefully plan your gifts so you can get the most bang for your buck on a gift that someone will remember.
Here are a few gift ideas that can be meaningful without costing you a mint. The Amazon links in this post are associate links which means I get paid a commission if you make a purchase.
For the ladies in your life:
- If she wears earrings find her a unique pair of earrings that really shows off her personality. Here are some of my personal favorites for the writer, reader, scientist, engineer, or 90’s girl.
- For the avid reader, find some classic second hand books in good condition or a new book that you know she would love to read. Tie the books together with some twine for an old-timey feel and toss in her favorite snack so she can munch and read.
- Consider a gift card to somewhere she likes to go. Is coffee a treat for her? Buy a little gift card to her favorite coffee shop. Does she love fashion? Get her a Stitch Fix gift card. The possibilities are endless when it comes to gift cards. Just be sure to make it a little more personal with a handwritten card.
For the guys in your life:
- If he’s a gamer the obvious move is to buy him a new release he’s been eyeing. The not-so-obvious move is to go retro and buy him the digital NES system. It’s $60 which is about what you would expect to pay for the freshest titles on Xbox or PlayStation. We’re children of the 80’s and 90’s the nostalgic value of this digitized 1985 system is off the charts! P.S. anyone could also buy me one of these… I want one so bad!
- Does he consider himself a mixologist? Consider getting him a mixology kit or a specialty cocktail kit. An alternative would be a new cocktail book to suit his style.
- Is he a fitness enthusiast? Consider getting him a gift card to his favorite running store. Or the piece of workout gear you know he needs. Is he a coffee lover? Give him a gift card to his favorite coffee shop. The possibilities are endless for gift cards. Just don’t forget to make it a little more personalized with a handwritten card or something cute.
For everyone:
- A movie you know they would like. I’m thinking Star Wars: The Force Awakens or Star Trek Beyond for the Sci Fi lovers in your life, Step Brothers or The Big Lebowski for the comedy lover, Zootopia for the cartoon lover, Space Jam or Jurassic Park for the 90’s kid, the movie options are endless.
- My upcoming book Repayable makes a great gift for anyone looking for student loan debt liberation. I expect it to launch near Christmas. The Kindle version will be available for pre-order ($6.99) on Amazon very soon. The print version should be available by the end of December ($12.99).
- A unique travel coffee mug for the tea or coffee drinker on the go like this one for photographers. Make it a good one that doesn’t leak no matter how you tip it.
- Vacuum cleaner, gym membership, or an etiquette book. Bahaha I’m just kidding about these! Unless someone specifically asks you for any of these gifts you’re going to offend them.
Enjoy shopping and repaying your student loans you rock star. Nothing is impossible in the quest for student loan liberation!
Comment below with your best and worst Holiday gift ideas!
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