As a zero waste advocate, my first suggestion for the holiday season would be to curb unnecessary consumption as much as possible and try to shop or trade reused goods. As a human being living in North America, I know that this isn’t the easiest thing to do!

So if you can’t avoid the mall this season and already swapped till you dropped, it’s important that, at the very least, you minimize your January financial hangover as much as possible. To this point, Shannon Lee Simmons of the New School of Finance presents Money Awesomeness – 4 simple tips to help keep your holiday spending under control!

While you’re keeping Shannon’s tips in mind and spending your hard earned cash, try to reduce waste as much as possible. That means buying gifts people will actually use and love. Also keep a mind towards avoiding toxins in the gifts you give and try to give products that have the least impact on the environment and human health.  You can use Good Guide’s searchable database to determine what gifts are best for your family, the environment and everyone’s health.

You can also reduce waste when you wrap those fancy gifts. My Aunt and Uncle always used to wrap our gifts in newspaper comics which was fun to read once the excitement of the gift wore off. Reusable gift bags are also a great idea or pick up some pretty silk scarves from a used-clothing store.