Surviving Christmas

If you are like me, and you do your shopping throughout the year, you can enjoy some absolutely phenomenal savings on your Christmas shopping by taking advantage of sales.

Anyone who shops has noticed that all retailers work on a schedule. Certain categories of items go on sale in certain months every year. White sales in January, winter clothes in March and so on. If you do your Christmas shopping based on the retailer's calendar, you can save big bucks - especially if you buy for a lot of people.

There are also tremendous savings in the smaller sales, such as those held at other holidays. Mom and Pop stores always have one or more items on sale, normally 100% of the time. They shift these sale items so that they have an incentive for customers to visit their store more often than would otherwise be the case.

The internet has also spawned is own unique sales calendar. Big retailers like Barnes, Amazon and Wal-mart have "internet only" specials going on nearly every day.

If you can't save at least 30% off your normal Christmas shopping budget by taking advantage of this method, you haven't climbed out of bed yet!


I will grant you that if you are willing to get up at 3 am after you've been stuffed plum full of turkey, dressing and sweet potatoes, you can probably get 50% to 75% off on some items on your list. However, this is NOT my idea of fun, and I figure most people aren't that crazy. Obviously enough people are that some retailers are willing to torture their employees by scheduling those ridiculous sales - but I ain't one of them.

If you are careful, organized and willing to combine methods, its possible to get close to that sort of savings on ALL of your purchases, rather than simply what's on sale on Black Friday.

Many shoppers specifically wait until the last minute to do their Christmas shopping because they know many items will go on sale at this time. While this is an excellent way to save money, savvy Christmas shoppers know that doing a little bit of their Christmas shopping at these other sales during the year can help to ease the stress and financial burdens often associated with last minute Christmas shopping. It can also save your sanity.

Christmas shopping during big year round sales is definitely a good idea but it is important to remember that there are some ways to really take advantage of a big sale and some ways to have your Christmas shopping deterred by a big sale.


One of the biggest pitfalls associated with doing your Christmas shopping during big sales events is to end up purchasing many items you don’t need and would not have purchased if they weren’t on sale. This can be a problem especially if it causes you to exceed the budget you have set for Christmas shopping.

This often happens when shoppers encounter a sale they think is simply too good to pass up. In this case the shopper may be saving 50% off of the original price because of the discount but if they wouldn’t have purchased the item if it wasn’t on sale they are really just losing money. To avoid this pitfall, it is wise to make a list of each person on your list and what you intend to purchase for them so you will not be tempted by big bargains you can't really afford.


Another problem associated with Christmas shopping during big sales is that hesitancy often causes the shopper to miss out on an item. When you are Christmas shopping during a big sale it is important to be slightly impulsive. If you see an item you think you would like to purchase for someone on your Christmas list, you have to either buy it right away or run the risk that it will be gone when you come back. Retailers often put items on sale when they only have a limited quantity of the item in stock and therefore once they sell out the item is gone.

Avoid all this entirely with a little ingenuity, a little bit of work and some good planning. Simply visit my page on working with shopping clubs. You'll avoid all the chaos, headaches and tears, while saving money and sanity!

Then, if you decide you absolutely just must go "Christmas shopping" (ie: hit the malls during the holidays - for the FUN of it!), you won't be stressed out, broke and half-crazed when you do so.


Watch for frequent updates to this blog from now through the first week in January!! I will be providing links to great online shopping sales, as well as other programs you can take advantage of.

Many Blessings,
GrannySue

PS: Don't forget to leave a comment - your hints, tips and suggestions are always appreciated!!