Christmas is just around the corner. This year, the National Retail Federation holiday survey said that the average American will spend close to $700 on Christmas gifts, cards, decorations, and the like. This amount is way below average but for 13.6 million Americans who are still trying to pay off their holiday debts from last year, saying no to additional spending can be tough. Robert Pagliarini gives these 10 tips on how to avoid spending so much this coming holiday season:
1. Plan it. Before you shop online or trek to the shipping malls, draw up a spending plan and list the people who you need to buy for and how much you will spend for each.
2. Use discounted gift cards. Try to purchase discounted gift cards for retailers including the Apple Store, Radio Shack, Sears, Home Depot, and others. Discounts are usually 5-30 percent off the face value of the card. Check out GiftCardRescue.com and GiftCards.com.
3. Use social media. Before you start shopping, start following your favorite stores on Twitter and Facebook. Many companies offer discounts exclusively to their Twitter followers and Facebook friends. A quick search of their recent posts may reveal money-saving discount codes.
4. Barter via online chat. When you’re shopping online, look for a “chat” or “live help” button. Tell the customer service rep you’d like to shop with them but you want a 15 percent discount. Ask them to check with their manager or you will abandon your shopping cart and click over to their competitor.
5. Find discount codes. I never buy anything online without trying to find a discount code first. I’ve literally saved hundreds of dollars and it doesn’t take more than a minute. Simply go to RetailMeNot.com, SecretPrices.com, and FreeShipping.org to pull up all of the available discounts for your store. Use the discount code during the checkout process to get free shipping or to save 20 percent or more.
6. Get cash back. If you’re going to spend hundreds of dollars this year on gifts, you might as well try to get a few bucks back. I’ve used ebates.com (affiliate link — all proceeds will go to charity) for some time and have received several rebate checks.
7. Bring on the envelopes, and leave your credit cards and debit cards at home. Allocate an amount of money for each gift, and put that money in separate envelopes marked with the recipients’ names.
8. Give group gifts. When exchanging presents within large groups of people, even “token” gifts can really add up. For instance, join your co-workers when buying gifts for the boss.
9. Make a promise that you won’t buy anything for yourself. When you’re shopping for gifts, it’s easy to be tempted to buy for yourself. Make this season about others, not you — and remember that the items you want will likely be less expensive during the after-season sales.
10. Avoid the “10 percent off, buy more” phenomenon. Stores often offer great deals when you sign up for their credit cards, but beware the high rate of interest these cards charge and ask yourself if you’ll really be saving money in the long run. And don’t spend more than you intended just because you’re now getting a discount on your purchase.
