The holiday season is a tough time of the year for anyone’s wallet. Checking off everyone from your list of gifting can get expensive very quickly, on top of normal expenses like paying bills, rent, and other obligations. Mint and Thrift was built on affordable shopping, so I’m sharing 10 of my tips to save more money this holiday season. By the way – these tips can be used year round to save money anytime you are shopping!
Use browser extensions like Ebates and Honey
I live by Ebates! It’s not a scam at all – just install the free (!!) browser extension and on participating websites, you’ll be notified when you can get cash back on your purchase. It can range anywhere from 1% all the way up to 10%. You’ll get a cash back check every 3 months based on qualifying purchases! It’s so easy to do this and I highly recommend this to everyone.
Honey is another great browser extension, which focuses mostly on coupons. Honey is also free, and it’ll search the internet to apply coupon codes to your purchase. It’s awesome because it does the work for you and you won’t need to spend time searching for coupon codes.
Sign up for email newsletters to get coupons
This is a win-win: Online retailers want your information and in exchange, you’ll get a discount! First time shoppers usually can get a percentage off the first purchase. Staying on the lists, though, gets you early access to sales and discounts. Make sure to check your emails before hoping on to a website – you may have some deals lurking!
Look up Price Adjustment policies
Ok, this one requires a bit more work but trust me, it’s worth it! I often find myself impulse shopping during the holidays to take advantage of deals or items that I feel may sell out fast. Many retailers have a price adjustment policy that allows you to take advantage of a price mark down after you made your purchase. You’ll need to keep your receipt, and make sure that you’ve checked by the price adjustment deadline (often 15 days). The store will refund you the balance based on the new item’s price. I’ve even had a better discount applied to a previous purchase.
Keep your receipts
Like I said before, stores want your information so they can retarget you with marketing. Keep your receipts and check to see if they have a survey. Sometimes the surveys count as an entry toward a giveaway, or you may be guaranteed a discount like 15% off your next purchase! It’s a sweet deal and the surveys are always very short.
Check out discount retailers
The best time to shop at T.J. Maxx and Marshall’s is DEFINITELY in December. The stores are stacked to the brim with new merchandise all the way through Christmas. I’ve gone to T.J. Maxx and knocked off at least 3 people from my list in one shopping trip. The best thing – everything is already discounted from it’s original retail price. I often look for cashmere sweaters, department store makeup, fragrance, and home goods. Another great place to get discounted merchandise is at Groupon. You can get a lot of practical gifts – think of electronic toothbrushes, shaving kits for men, and tech accessories – on the cheap.
Set a budget
This year, I’m setting a per person budget. This helps keep me on track with my spending. You’ll also feel more inclined to find the best deals to get the best value on your gift!
Shop reliable categories
When all else fails, don’t stress and fall back on some reliable gifts people are guaranteed to love, like fragrance sets, clothing, and tech accessories. I’m positive most people can make use of an extra power bank for their phones!
Comparison shopping
Always, always, always do your research. The Internet has helped expand where we can shop, so take advantage of it! If I’m interested in a specific item, I make sure to do a Google search and look for the cheapest price available from a reliable website.
Shop early
With Cyber Week officially over, you’ll find stores are offering fewer discounts. If you did shop during Cyber Week, however, you may have been eligible for a discount that would be redeemable now through early December. Again, check your email for these discounts!
Another benefit of shopping early is that you can change your mind later, or find the product discounted at a later time and return (or get a price adjustment) on the earlier purchase.
If it can wait, shop after Christmas
Sales will start to dwindle until about Christmas. After Christmas, everything goes back on sale again! If the gift can wait until after Christmas, it’s a good idea to wait until those sales start popping up so you can get more affordable gifts.
I hope I’ve armed you with the tools you need to get your holiday shopping started in an affordable way! Make sure to check back to the blog for gift guides, which will be dispersed throughout December!