Easter on a Budget

Updated: April 2, 2023

Easter is nearby, and we’re actively preparing for its celebration. Although it isn’t the most expensive holiday, it can still affect your family budget and lower your savings rate.

There are ways to celebrate Easter on a budget and make it memorable. Before we dive into these ways, let’s look at some statistics expected in 2024 and make sure the holiday can impact your wallet.

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Easter Celebrating and Spending Expectations in 2024

This year’s Easter will differ slightly from the last, although Covid-19 is ongoing. Many people missed last year’s festivities for this reason and are now eager to catch up. More and more Americans get vaccinated and gain more confidence about gatherings.

The 2024 National Retail Federation survey indicated that Easter spending would likely reach a record high of $24 billion this year. It increased from the $20.8 billion spent in 2022 and $21.7 billion the previous year. Most Americans, 81%, plan to celebrate Easter this year; the expenditure is estimated at around $192.01 per person.

Let’s try to cut this amount and explore creative ways to celebrate Easter on a budget.

Plan & Budget to Save on Easter

Planning for any holiday starts with a budget. Figure out how much you can afford to spend on the holiday. Make your Easter budget as realistic as possible. A too-tight budget will be hard to stick to, while a big budget won’t let you save anything. The earlier you start, the better.

A recent survey highlights that people are altering their Easter 2023 plans due to rising inflation and increased prices on food items such as eggs and candy. Let’s look at the statistics:

72% of people said that increasing expenses would affect their Easter plans,
About 43% of them are searching for extra deals,
16% are considering reducing the quantity of food for their holiday supper,
14% are expecting fewer attendees for dinner,
24% stated that they would rely more on coupons.

Create and Review Your Easter List

As soon as you determine your holiday budget, list what you need. Check it twice for mistakes or opportunities to shorten the list. For example, you can trim your list by doing the following.

Reuse Old Easter Stuff

Pull out all Easter things left from your previous celebration and go through them all. For example, Easter baskets (their filling is much more essential) and decorations can be easily reused for years to come. Don’t buy anything until you’re sure you can’t use what you already have.

Avoid Special Easter Outfits

In 2019, the average American consumer spent approximately $27.29 on new Easter clothes. Three years later, this figure increased to $27.93 per person, amounting to an estimated total of $3.44 billion in 2022, as the National Retail Federation reported.

You can avoid this spending in 2023. In case you decide that you need to buy something new, be practical. Purchase only one thing and combine it with something you already have. Another option is to buy a dress or a suit that can be worn for other events.

Colour Easter Eggs Yourself

According to a survey, about 16 million dye kits and 180 million eggs are bought annually. This year 81% of people planned to buy a dye kit to paint Easter eggs.

Dyeing Easter eggs is essential to the holiday but shouldn’t cost much. You can colour eggs yourself with the help of vinegar, food colouring, and water.

Another idea is to let your kids decorate eggs with anything they wish or colour them with markers or paints.

Think about Alternative DIY Easter Egg Fillers

Instead of filling eggs with sweets, fill them with something else, such as homemade goodies, coins, stickers, and whatnot. You can also buy a puzzle and fill each egg with one piece of it.

Cut the Menu Items

Don’t overload the table with a great variety of dishes. Otherwise, you won’t be able to eat them all. Focus on simple food with inexpensive ingredients. Use the food you already have in your fridge or freezer.

Another idea is to ask your guests to bring a dish to the party, at least a side dish or a dessert.

An excellent alternative is to host an Easter brunch. Breakfast foods, such as baked French toast, pastries, muffins, or an oatmeal bar with customizable toppings, are great options as they require minimal effort, and the ingredients are cheaper.

Focus on Celebration, Not on Gifts

Instead of buying many Easter gifts for your kids, focus on celebrating the holiday. Do fun things together – play games, hunt eggs, or do crafts. In other words, gift your time to the kids.

Another way to save on presents is to give valuable things you plan to buy, such as unique Easter gifts.

Buy Easter Stuff on a Budget

You have your final list of things you must buy for the Easter celebration. It’s time to find out how to save on these items.

Shop Sales

If you have made your budget and planned your Easter list beforehand, you can try to take advantage of various sales. Start buying all the necessary Easter stuff at least a few weeks before the holiday.

Use Coupons

Use a standard Google search tool to find out if there’re any available coupons. Check your mail and email for exclusive coupons in case you’re a loyal member of any store. You may also try asking the cashier for a spare coupon.

Don’t Rush with Your Online Easter Purchases

Let the items you plan to buy stay in your shopping cart for some time before you complete the purchase. Retailers are likely to email you discounts to make you buy these things.

Take Advantage of Free Shipping

Some stores offer free shipping if you pass a spending threshold. If you’re a credit cardholder, try using your credit card shopping portal for free shipping. Some credit cards allow you to get your purchases delivered for free through third-party companies.

Try to Redeem Rewards Points

If you can’t buy certain Easter stuff cheaper, you may try to redeem rewards points for purchasing the items you need.

Some credit card portals have links to shopping websites. You can use these links to earn rewards.
There are also cash-back sites and apps that allow you to earn cash back while shopping.
Some stores let you get debit card cash back while making purchases.
Are you an Apple Pay user? Get Apple Pay cash back for doing shopping using the service.

There’s also one more trick to rack up your credit card points. It is described here in detail.

Financial Freedom Guru’s Final Word

Now you know the most effective ways to save on Easter. With the tips above, you’ll manage to make Easter 2023 special and won’t let it blow your budget. All you need is careful planning upfront.

Ekaterina Redko

I have always wanted to live a full life without stressing out about money. After finishing university, I started work and soon realized that my salary didn’t match the kind of life I wanted. I took a side hustle, hoping it would make me wealthier – it didn’t. I still had to live paycheck to paycheck. Why? I wanted to figure this out and did it.

The truth is that it is not the amount of money that makes you wealthy, but the way you manage it. My problem was the lack of proper spending habits and discipline with money. I created a budget and started saving. Budgeting took me a lot of time and effort, but that was worth it.

Now I understand that how much you save is way more important than how much you earn. Saving is one of the core principles of building wealth and achieving financial independence.

With Financial Freedom Guru, I’d like to share my knowledge and experience of managing money and building wealth. I hope that together we’ll manage to pave the way towards Financial Freedom.