So it's Black Friday weekend. You saved up all your money for the month because you were planning to use some of it to spend on yourself and your family and friends for the upcoming holiday. You spend the whole weekend sitting on your bed online shopping from a countless number of websites, taking advantage of the sales— buying another Buddha tapestry, in a different color than the one you bought from that one thrift shop knee-high boots that you're probably only going to wear once, and maybe a couple new bath bombs from Lush even though you don't even have a properly functioning bathtub in your school apartment.

Cyber Monday comes along. The sales haven't stopped yet but you are too busy with the new school week and finals to care about spending more money. As you're making your way through your course reading on Blackboard, you decide to take a break and procrastinate for a couple minutes. You check Kylie Jenner's Instagram story. There's a sale on her lip kits-on a color similar to three others that you have. But hey, you NEED this. It's ON SALE. As you're making your way through the checkout on the website and press the bright "PLACE ORDER" button, a sign flashes before your eyes telling you that your order didn't go through. You try two other times before checking your bank account for the first time in a WEEK.

$10.13 reads your bank account. You sigh in dismay. How are you going to split $10.13 between your three siblings, parents, four friends, your cat, and that professor you desperately need to give you that 0.5% to help you raise your overall class grade? Well, you can't. But you HAVE to find a way. Christmas is right around the corner.

Lucky for you, I have a couple ways to help you when it comes to buying gifts for loved ones when you're broke.

BTW— no more UBEREats. You're gonna need that $10 for emergencies. Stick to your meal plan until you have enough money to actually spend.

1. Moving on, the first idea I have in mind is to actually AVOID buying gifts altogether.

Instead of buying gifts, take your loved ones out for an adventure-a trip to the beach, a picnic with homemade meals-people are much more likely to remember experiences than gifts that they probably won't use often— especially if it's coming from a college kid.

2. MAKE your gifts.

Dig up old photographs and materials from your old art classes and make photo albums or scrapbooks. They don't have to be big— just a couple pictures would do. And if you don't have many photographs, incorporate your own drawings. A shoe box with reasons why you love that one person or a basket filled with cotton balls as fake snow and even just a picture in a frame could be meaningful to someone. Think about it... wouldn't you rather get a homemade gift rather than a gift set from The Body Shop that you probably won't open up for the next two years? Wouldn't you feel like the gift is actually coming from the heart because of its personal touch?

3. Give them old presents that you HAVEN'T used.

Speaking of that gift set from The Body Shop that you won't open for the next two years, IF you even find it, there is nothing wrong with giving an old gift to someone as long as they weren't the ones who gave it to you or they know the person who gave the gift to you. As long as the gift is in perfect condition and is not open, it would be perfectly fine to wrap it up again and give it away. If you aren't using it, someone else could and might even use it right away. Make sure to check the expiry date if you're giving out old products though because you don't want to give someone something that is expired or is going to expire soon. You can also open the gift sets up if there are a lot of things in one and divide the gifts between people— just make sure to individually wrap everything.

4. Clean out your closet.

I know that you're supposed to be focused on the holidays and relaxing— anything other than responsibilities— but think about that old denim jacket that you have. You don't wear it anymore. Why don't you paint something cool or personal on the back (like your sister's name) and give it to your sister? Siblings and cousins and friends alike love hand-me-downs, and a personal touch like their name and a couple pins would want them to wear it. You didn't have to spend money and can still customize a pretty cool jacket that would look good on anyone. Feel free to ask your parents for vintage hand-me-downs so that you can have a variety of sizes and styles to customize and give out as gifts. Make sure to clean and wash the clothes before you give them away and paint on them, though!

5. Become a director for a day and make a movie.

If you aren't really an art person and more of a technical person, making a movie for your loved ones is an easy way to show them how much you love them without spending a penny. Time is a lot more expensive than money, so this gift would be considered extremely valuable for loved ones. You don't even have to be a pro. These days, programs like iMovie on MACs and your iPhone make it easy to make homemade movies. All you have to do is import a couple videos into the program and just take it from there. You can add music and pictures for the extra touch. Apps such as RAD VHS also allow you to add a vintage time stamp to add the extra homemade video touch.

P.S.— This has nothing to do with the topic of the article, but if you really are broke, a lot of restaurants and cafés alike are hiring for the holidays and you probably need that extra cash to enjoy yourself, so don't be afraid to ask a place about their seasonal job offers!