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It's that time of year again; peace on earth, good will toward man, and shopping as a marathon sport. Right? Not necessarily.
As we head into November here in the U.S., we're rounding the corner on what is typically the most stressful time of the year for Americans. Nevermind the joy of coordinating with family -- so often far-flung, in our culture, as well as most of us having to deal with relatives, step-relatives, and in-laws -- for everyone's various holiday celebrations, but it's Gimme time. Bring on the gifts! And somehow, we're all supposed to 1) know what everyone wants, 2) be able to afford it, 3) have time to buy it, and 4) insist "it was nothing."
Don't panic! I am here to tell you that with a few tricks up your sleeve, you needn't dread holiday shopping. It's fun to get presents, and it should be fun to give them, too. You should be able to shop without stress and without debt, rendering the gifting portion of the holiday season a pleasure rather than a burden. Pinky swear! All you need is a few basic guidelines.
Do it early. The easiest way to avoid the holiday crush, of course, is to shop throughout the year as you find things on sale. This tends to work well if you're buying for people who collect things or who always want the same sort of thing, and if you have storage space and are organized enough to keep track of what you've already bought. This is something to keep in mind for future years, though I know you're thinking it's not much use to you now. But actually -- it is. Did you know that a majority of Americans don't start their holiday shopping until after Thanksgiving? You still have three weeks in which to shop before people start going insane in the middle of Target. Get moving.
Do it online. In this day and age, you can buy nearly everything online. And given the cost of gas, you're not only saving yourself aggravation by skipping the mall, you're probably saving money, too. (Double bonus: If you're a parent, you don't have to drag your kids with you!)
Assume there's a better deal. The real beauty of online shopping is that there are always deals to be had. There are coupons and codes for money off or free shipping, and plenty of sites feature regular sales. Deal tip discussion forums abound on the internet. There's also no shortage of bloggers who specialize in sharing their bargain finds with you, if you can't be bothered to comb the deal sites yourself. While I obviously think Want Not is your best bet in terms of both deals and entertainment (written by the wonderful and witty... oh, alright, fine, it's written by me), there truly is something for everyone. Got a baby? Check out Baby Cheapskate. Seriously, you can't go too far on the internet before you trip over a deal site. Find the one that speaks to you and read it regularly. At the very least, never make an online purchase before Googling for available coupon codes!
Membership has its privileges. Assuming that you have credit cards which you know how to use responsibly (you use them like cash, buying only what you can afford, paying the balance every month), investigate any partner deals your card might offer. My Discover card, for example, allows me to use my Cashback Bonus dollars towards gift certificates. For some stores, my $20 gets me $40. For others, $20 only gets me $25, but that's still $5 more than I had before. It's worth checking out.
When you shop in person, don't be afraid to haggle. Nowadays people assume that the marked price is the price, period. But some of my best deals have been gotten simply by asking for a discount. No, really! If it's the last one of something, or if it has a slight blemish of some kind, most stores will take some money off. The worst that can happen is that they say no, but if you don't ask you don't get. (Just smile a lot and be exceedingly polite. "I was just wondering if since this is the last one..." or whatever you feel compelled to say. If a sales associate can't help you, ask if you could ask a manager. You'll need to bring your confidence but this one works a lot more often than you might think.)
Less is more. Don't give
