Greeting cards | 25 cool ways to save

The average price of greeting cards start at around $5.99. Now if you are a very frugal person, sometimes the greeting card can cost more than the gift! Especially if you have read my post on totally free gift ideas!

Of course if you are a penny-pinching person like me you will have smartly discovered that $2 shops stock a large range of cards for around $1 or $2. These little gems are a bargain in comparison to their more pricey alternative! But sometimes buying a greeting card before each event takes place can be as painful as finding the pen to write it up with! Ahhh there it is! In my toddler’s secret hiding spot! Nice one kid…

If you are not organised you might find that a drive to the local $2 shop to buy the card might defeat the goal in terms of petrol getting there! The ideal is to stock up on budget cards and buy them in bulk at the beginning of the year. If you are really organised you could also write them all up at once and put them in a little index box ordered by date. But for many people this might take the sentiment out of the exercise. As a recipient of several too-well timed generic-sounding cards myself, I’m not a fan of this type of serial organisation. But that’s just me. It is the thought that counts after all.

The alternative is to set the challenge of spending zero on cards this year! This way, there will be no driving up the shops and wasting time trying to figure out what cards to get, how many, and for whom.

Instead take a look at this little list I’ve put together. These tips will not only put more pennies in your piggy, but they will spark a quirky sense of creativity that will leave you simply chuffed with yourself!

What a win-win!!!! Whoever gets your card this year will certainly remember it as one that stood out above all the others! I’m thinking of the Weetbix box I covered in fabric and tinsel, which was so well received my recipient framed it!

And don’t hold back! If you create or find an idea for a fab homemade card, be sure to post it in comments below! Don’t forget to find more ideas on Pinterest! Here’s a cute greeting card I found.

Get creative with your greetings cards!

Artwork

Use your child’s artwork pasted on to an old food box you have cut up.

Be choosy

Only send cards to people you truly love and like. Dutiful cards look generic.

Buy on sale

Buy Christmas cards on sale in December for next year. Buy on Christmas Eve.

Buy them discounted

Buy cheap card sets at discount shops like Dimmey’s and the Reject Shop.

Consider eCards

For overseas recipients send eCards or jingles.

Greeting cards need not be an actual card

Cull your list

Scale down your Christmas card list to only your best friends.

Deliver yourself

Deliver local cards when you are in the area. Save on postage.

Draw your own

Draw your own cards. People love an artist and that you spent the time on them.

Film your card

Record a YouTube video and send the link to all your friends.

Food boxes

Use old food boxes to make your own cards.

Forget tags

Do not use gift tags. Write stylishly on the wrapping itself in a bold marker.

Get the scissors out

Recycle Xmas cards sent to you last year and make little gift tags with them.

Go digital with your greeting cards

Make a website

Make a free and cheap Xmas website at wix.com

Make your own

Paste wrapping on to a cardboard food box to make little cards.

Message in a bottle

Recycle an old jar

Put your Christmas message in with some lollies. Add ribbon.

Print a photo

Photos make great cards. Print them off cheaply and send them as a postcard.

Record greetings cards or recycle them!

Record it

Record your Christmas message on your computer and email it.

Recycle from last year

Make the cards you received last year into postcards. These are cheaper to post too!

Say it online

Say it on Facebook or here in the Savings Room. Get your message out fast!

Send a postcard

Send a postcard if you must send a card. They are cheaper to post.

Greeting cards are awesome in a song!

Sing it

Say it with a song. Record yourself singing a Christmas jingle and email it to a friend.

Skype people

Call your friends and family on Skype instead of sending a card.

Start a drawer

Start a gift-paper draw for collecting items for cards next year.

Text a message

If you have a smart phone send a card via text message.

Use your junk mail

Cover junk mail card with magazine pictures and recycled paper.