Barefoot Basket

Since becoming laid off in November of last year, I have found myself trying to find ways to live frugal.  I recently sat down with a notebook and pen to jot down where we spend wasteful money.  A lot of it is spent by the hubby on food and such since he struggles to pack lunches, but I found an even greater amount that was leak through the cracks.

Holidays, birthdays, and celebrates have been causing our money to pour from between our fingers.  Of course, I still want to get family and friends gifts and celebrate with them.  But there has to be a less expensive way. 

After searching many websites and Pinterest (of course), I have found many many ways to save money when it comes to gift giving. 

Today I tested my techniques by making a gift for my sister-in-law.  I will not list the amount I spent but I will say that I saved myself $45.00.  She likes socks and I found a pair of nice fuzzy ones that looked very comfy.  After getting the socks, I decided the theme would be feet.  Yes, I know, an odd theme but it seemed to work out nicely.

Gift contents:

Fuzzy socks

Shower foot scrubber

Nail files and clipper

Nail polish

Toes separators

Bath foam

Bath gel

and... to top it all off a national bestseller book titled.... "BAREFOOT"

I added two cards made from card stock, free printables, and cut outs from some scrapbook pages I had.... I wrote "Feet in the Sand" on one and "Happy Birthday" on the other.

Other ideas for this basket could include:

Flip flops

Additional pairs of socks

Gift certificate for a pedi

Shower puff

Beach towel