For the next month, I’m going to be writing a series of occasion frugal living posts that fall under the heading “Countdown to a Frugal Holiday.” In each post I’ll highlight one way that you can save money this holiday season. I figured in today’s economy, we can all use some new ideas to stretch your dollar further–or reminders about tried-and-true methods for getting the most bang for your holiday buck.

This year it seems like a lot of consumers are going to be keeping their credit cards in their wallets and paying with cash instead–at least that’s what the National Retail Federation has found in its recent surveys. In fact, a whopping 71% of us plan to use cash or debit cards to pay for holiday gifts. That’s great because it means folks will be shopping within their means and they won’t be entering into 2010 heavy in debt.

An old-fashioned method of shopping within your means that has come back into fashion is the layaway plan. (I wrote a blog post last year about what to expect when using layaway.) A handful of stores have reintroduced this concept, where you put money down on something you want to buy–and then you pay in small increments until you’ve paid the entire price for the item and then you can take it home. In today’s “I want it now” society, this concept seems downright archaic, but it’s an excellent way to keep yourself on budget.

I started seeing commercials for K-Mart’s layaway program a few weeks ago. In addition to K-Mart, you can expect to find layaway programs at the following stores, too:

• Sears (Sears and K-Mart are owned by the same company)
• Toys R Us and Babies R Us
• TJ Maxx
• Burlington Coat Factory

Is layaway something you’re considering to keep yourself on budget this year?