The holidays are here and that means some serious shopping is in order for my gift list. But how does a renter with a tiny budget, like me, find the extra cash needed for gifts?
Well, since I didn’t start a holiday savings plan like I should have, I found a few other ways to lessen the financial toll and get my gifts for less this year. Here are a few tricks that worked for me.
- Plan your Purchases: Write down everyone on your list and decide on a gift for each person. By planning your purchases ahead of time, you can monitor holiday sales for better deals on specific items. You will also stay more focused while shopping instead of getting distracted by frivolous items.
- Head to the Outlets: Shoppers can find huge discounts on great items just by heading to the outlet stores as opposed to mall locations. These stores will often have some of the same pieces as their mall equivalents for half the price.
- Know the Details: Keep an eye out for sales on the items you plan to purchase, and when a sale does arise, be sure to study all the details of the sale before heading to the store. You don’t want to travel all the way to the store just to find out that the model you want isn’t included or that the sale price is only through a rebate.
- Join Mailing Lists: By joining the mailing lists of the stores that carry your desired items, you can receive exclusive discounts not available to other customers. Cha-ching! This also works with coupons. Watch for great coupons to name brands in the paper and online at coupon sites like couponcabin.com or retailmenot.com.
- Shop Online: By shopping online, you again may find that you are privy to special discounts you would not see in the stores, especially in the WilliamPaid Shopping Center. Also, when shopping online, you aren’t spending money on travel to and from stores. Warning: Watch out for shipping costs, you may only want to shop online at sites providing free shipping.
Luckily, I have one last less traditional trick to help with my gift list - friends who are starting new businesses in pottery, photography and jewelry. Looks like this year I’m giving a few one-of-a-kind gifts all while saving a bit of green and helping their businesses. Talk about a win-win-win. What other methods have saved you money this holiday season?
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