Money Saving Tip: Shop Now for Holiday Gifts

Here's a simple money saving tip:

Shop sales over the next couple of months for holiday gifts.

My wife and I were shopping last week when we hit a boatload of sales. I'm not sure if these were called "back-to-school", "clearance", "fall" or "harvest" sales, but whatever their names, they offered big, big savings. In one store, we found a 50% off table with gobs of merchandise we knew we'd be buying for people later at much higher prices. So we bought now instead and pocketed the savings.

For example, every year we get my mom some sort of stationery set for Christmas. She writes a ton of letters and enjoys getting a box full of similarly-themed cards, envelopes, stationery, etc. The table had a great set priced at $19.99 -- and then 50% off that. Why not buy the item now, save 50%, store it and then give it to her at Christmas? Even if we did find another set later in the year (which we could) and even if it was on sale (which it would probably be sometime during the holidays), it's likely that it wouldn't be on sale for as much as 50% off. Plus, we'd have to spend time looking for a new set. Instead, we bought the item, secured the savings, and crossed one gift off our Christmas list.

There were several items on this table (and a few others at another place) that we picked up. We probably got 20% of our Christmas shopping done in a couple hours and at 30-50% off. Not a bad deal. I'm planning on looking for other deals, sales, and clearance specials over the next few months. Think I can be one of those lucky few who have all their Christmas shopping done by November 1? ;-)

Comments

[beef]

The only problem with this that I see is my wife finding extra things we "need" because we would be frequently shopping more to find the deals! I think for most people - the more you shop, the more you buy.....

[Pam]

I worked in retail for 8 years. So I can attest that stores have major clearance events in July and August. New merchandise for the holiday season starts arriving the end of August and stores need to make room in their storerooms and on the sales floor for the new stuff that will start hitting shelves as soon as back-to-school is cleared out.

Have fun shopping!
Pam

[FMF]

Beef --

DISCIPLINE!!!!!! ;-)

[beef]

I have it, but my wife.... Okay, no excuses

[Chris]

I plan to make most of my gifts this year.

[Jo]

I try to buy all year long, especially since my family does mostly generic gifts. I also buy clothes when I see them on sale, for my young nieces and nephews. It's great becuase I get these great (and expensive) outfits for dirt cheap (usually 60-75% off). Usually, it's at the beginning of the year, but sometimes they don't have the right sizes or anything nice so I just keep my eyes open. Then the clothes hang in my closet all year until their birthdays and christmas.

[Susanna a.k.a. Cheap Like Me]

I shop all year round for things like gifts and next-size clothing for my daughter. I have a bin in the basement for the clothes and an extra dresser with gifts in it. Last week our local greenhouse had a garage sale and I found a bunch of "gourmet" soups, priced at crazy prices like $8, that I bought for 25 cents each - great stocking stuffers! I have fancy decorative candles socked away from last year's post-holiday clearance sales, and sometimes I find fun gag gifts or stocking stuffers to enhance homemade presents at the thrift store, dollar store or garage sale. I only buy things that are new or like new, and it's a great way to shop. You also get to spread your holiday budget throughout the year -- often I just buy from my regular weekly budget, which makes the holidays much more affordable.