Are you looking for a way to simplify and save money this holiday season?

Last year, we tried something new with my husband’s side of the family.  Because finances were tight for all of us, we all agreed to buy just one gift for someone else in the family.  We drew names (and it couldn’t be our significant other) and set a price limit.   But – and this is the beauty part – everyone had to fill out a wishlist on Amazon.com.  That way we could each be sure that what we were giving (and receiving) was something “good.”  (My colleague Hillary said it well in her vlog post about Gift Organizing, “I’d rather get nothing than something I don’t want.”

Now, Amazon sells just about everything under the sun.  But what if someone really wanted something from a different store?  Not a problem!  Enter the Universal Wishlist button from Amazon.com!

Once you drag this button to your web browser’s toolbar, you can capture anything on the internet onto a wishlist hosted by Amazon.  If you have multiple wishlists with Amazon, you can even indicate which list you are adding it to.  There’s also a space for you to write comments as well as a link back to where the item can be bought.

This plan worked really well for us last year. We each were able to give with confidence, receive with gratitude and spend way less money.

P.S. To search for someones’s wishlist, go to Amazon.com and click on “Gifts & Wishlists” at the top of the screen.  On the right-hand side of the next page, you can type in the name or email of the person you are buying for.