Recap: Holiday Shopping Tips

Last night I was one of the unfortunate souls at the mall scrambling for a last minute gift for someone I didn't expect to buy for. You know one of those people you don't normally get a gift but when they decide to come to Christmas dinner you feel like you have too. Anyway, that got me thinking about how I did my shopping this year. And because this is the first year I had to buy all of my gifts myself since I have a full time job I thought I would share a few tips that I used this year to help me accomplish my shopping in hopes of reminding me and you next year on ways to avoid the stress of last minute gift shopping.

Tip # 1 Set A Budget!
This one I cannot stress enough. It seems obvious but setting a budget is going to keep you in check and help so you don't over spend this year. You could do it one of two ways. You could set an overall Christmas Gift budget that you are going to stay within. Or the way I did it this year was to set a budget for each person on my list. This worked best for me because I only wanted to spend a certain amount on certain people and by doing that it helped me narrow down my list of possible gifts for that person.

Tip #2 Make A List!
This was one of the best tricks I had up my sleeve. In past years I used to make a mental list of the people I wanted to buy for and then would head to the mall and browse the various stores until I found something for everyone that I had. Two problems with this. I can only imagine I spent more money than I needed to by not comparing gifts from various stores but more on this in tip number 4. Second, I always end up forgetting someone until the last minute and end up running out the week before Christmas to get them something. Grant it I had to do that this year but that was only because I didn't find out they were coming to Christmas until a week and a half before Christmas.


Tip # 3 Start Early!
 I started my shopping early this year and it really saved me a lot of trouble and headaches. I avoided most of the crowds and I didn't feel rushed to go out every night and buy gifts. Also starting early helps you avoid that big credit card bill or relieves that stinging feeling as you watch all that money pour out of your checking account.

Tip # 4 Comparison Shop!
Whether it be online or in person you should always compare the price of an item at one store with that of another store. Often you can find the same or similar product at a different store for a different price. You can save a ton of money on your whole Christmas shopping total by taking the extra time to do your research on a gift.

Tip # 5 Shop Online!
I did all of my shopping online this year and I loved it. Having to never step foot inside a crowded shopping mall (or only once because of this random unexpected person) was amazing. By shopping online you get to beat the crowds and still get the amazing deals. And most stores offer the same in-store sales online and many stores have sales you can only get online. Plus stores have their entire product line in-stock online so no more going to a store only to find they don't have what you are looking for. Some stores even offer more products online  than they do in the store like Target for example.

Tip # 6 Use An Online Coupon/Cash Back Site to Maximize Savings!
I read a really good blog article today about how you should never leave a coupon code box blank. Its a really good article and at the end it lists a number of sites that will give you the codes for various store. Here is a link to that article. My personal choice and favorite is Ebates.com. I was skeptical at first but its great. Basically, companies pay Ebates to link their online store to Ebate's site. In turn Ebates uses their website to push customers to those companies websites to shop. They do that by offering you cash back on purchases you make. The cash back is pretty cool. I already have $27 in cash back just from this holiday season. But what is even better is it lists all of the coupon codes for every participating store. I scored some great deals using this site. If you aren't using Ebates or a site like it you are almost throwing money away each time you pay full price for an item.

Tip # 7 Combine Coupon Deals/Cash Back Websites With your Rewards Credit or Debit Card!
I actually got a kick out of searching for deals where I could combine coupons with cash back sites and pay for my purchase with either my rewards credit card or my rewards debit card. The ultimate was combining a 20% off and free shipping coupon code for Barnes & Nobles with Ebates special 8% cash back on a buy one get one free deal and pay for it with my Ally Debit Card which gave me $2 back into my account for every $12 spent through Ally Perks. Trying to combine these kinds of deals will save you a bunch of money. Now I'm not saying go out and max out your credit card or buy something just because you get cash back on it that would be irresponsible. What I am saying is when you have found something you want to purchase, do your research and see what deals you can get for something you were already planning on buying.

Tip #8 Spend Responsibly and Pay Off Your Credit Card At the End of the Month!
Finally, like I mention above I'm not telling you to go out and spend like crazy and max out your cards. This post is all about trying to save money and avoid hassle and spending irresponsibly will not accomplish those goals. Don't buy things just because you get cash back or have a coupon. Instead when you are ready to buy something look to see if there is a coupon or if you can get cash back on it or if you can get a better price somewhere. And only charge things to your credit card that you know you can pay back at the end of the month. And just because you earn 1% cash back on purchases with your credit card does not mean you should put all of your Christmas purchases on it. 1% on even $100 is only $1 dollar. Maxing out your credit card is bad for your credit score, you should only use 30% of your available credit at any one time to help preserve your credit score. And always pay off your balance at the end of the month to avoid high interest charges.

For those of you who still haven't done your shopping I hope some of these tips might ease the pain. For those who are done remember these things for next year. And I'm no financial adviser this is just what I know from my experiences and readings so I am not an expert on money or finances. If you have questions about that talk to a financial adviser, read a book, or talk to your parents they've done it all before. And last, Happy Holidays to everyone.