People have been wrapping gifts since the 1st century. Birthdays, Christmas, baby showers, weddings … the list of reasons to buy (and wrap) a gift goes on and on. Let’s face it, if there is a reason to wrap a gift, we are going to do it.
Since we gift wrap everything under the sun, wrapping paper has become a billion-dollar industry. Makes sense when you think of all the options you have. If you are on a tight budget you may need to use the ultra-thin paper from any dollar store. If the sky’s the limit why not pay $63,000 for one gift to be custom wrapped in Swarovski crystals?
I imagine most of us stick with the $5 to $10 paper rolls. Then we usually top the whole thing off with ribbons and bows, which usually doubles the cost.
All of this (the paper, the ribbons, the gift tags) come in an infinite amount of colors, textures and quality; some even have our favorite characters on them. With the ability to customize the gift wrapping to match the recipient, you can easily spend $100 to $150 each year on all of these supplies that have the sole purpose of being ripped to shreds and then thrown in the trash. (Unless you’re that family member who tries to save every scrap of paper to reuse down the road.)
You don’t have to save old paper, or wrap birthday gifts with Christmas paper to save money. Try one of these money-saving tips instead:
Use these money-saving alternatives to wrapping paper when you can, and make sure you use the wrapping paper you already have before buying any more. You can use those extra savings to buy an additional gift.