The holiday season is upon us! This time of year can be stressful, especially if you overspend on gifts and and end up in debt. Use these tips to help you save money and get more out of your holiday spending.
Tip 1: Start shopping early.
Waiting until the last minute to do your shopping can blow your budget in a couple of ways. First, you might end up having to pay full price for gifts if you don't give yourself time to comparison shop and keep an eye out for deals. And second, if you do most of your shopping online, you’ll have to add on the cost of expedited shipping if you wait too long. So start your shopping early this year and give yourself time to look for deals and take advantage of free shipping!
Tip 2: Use your smartphone.
Shopping around for deals has never been easier thanks to technology! If you have a smartphone, apps like ShopSavvy, pic2shop, and Goodzer can help you comparison shop to make sure you’re getting the best price. By scanning the barcode on an item you can see if you can find it for less at another store nearby or online.
Tip 3: Avoid shopping with credit cards.
Studies have shown that people tend to spend up to 30% more when paying with credit cards as opposed to cash. To make sure you don’t blow your budget, decide ahead of time how much you’re going to spend for each person and carry cash when you shop.
Tip 4: Keep your receipts.
Not only will keeping the receipt help someone exchange or return a gift you give them, but it can also save you money. While you're doing your holiday shopping you might find that an item you bought has gone on sale shortly after your purchase. Most stores will refund you the difference if the purchase was made within a couple of weeks, so keep that receipt!
Tip 5: Give the gift of time.
Consider donating your time if you don’t have room in your budget for gift giving. Anyone with young children would probably appreciate you offering to babysit more than a gift anyway! If you’re handy, you can offer to help people with any unfinished projects around their home. And if you’re good with computers you can offer to help people fix their old computers or set up their new gadgets.
To learn more about our company - and find out how we are different from other financial advisors - call (210) 587-6433 or visit www.VannoyAdvisoryGroup.com.
