Foolproof Festive Season: Buying Christmas Gifts Year-Round
It happens every year. You wait until the holiday season and fight crowds, pay higher prices, and feel stressed. The smart shoppers can’t be found in such predicaments because they secure presents throughout the year. It’s a foolproof way to enjoy the holiday season. Don’t get stuck and stressed in December. Buy holiday gifts all year round!
Look Ahead
Those successful at picking stocks admit in seeing cycles, which enables them to choose the right ones at optimal periods. Look ahead, be aware of the yearly sales cycle, and don’t get caught paying seasonal prices. When’s the best time to buy presents? Generally, you can find discounted items starting in February, after the holiday season and period thereafter, when everyone is spending money or using gift cards.
Choose Now
You know you’re going to get a present for your brother, but you’re not sure as to what it will be until you go shopping. It’s the wrong way to go about buying gifts. You need to get beyond names and start identifying actual gifts you intend to purchase. From there, consider the best time of year to buy the gift. Your brother may love to surf, for example, and will be getting a few pairs of board-shorts for Christmas. The best time to buy the summer item is right after the summer season or during the fall months.
Remember Coupons Are as Good as Cash
Would you walk by a twenty dollar bill on the street? Of course not! So don’t make a purchase online without checking to see if there are any active coupons for the website you are shopping on and don’t checkout without Ebates! You can earn cashback on almost all of your online purchases. I made $57 in cashback last month and Ebates just deposits it straight into my paypal account!
Do the Research
Find the best time to buy specific items. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Some may have done research already. For example, the best time to buy major appliances is late summer and early fall. Sign-up for the gym in the middle of the summer, for membership prices rise in the later winter when people first start thinking about getting in swimsuits.
Get Personal
Personal gifts are great in making a recipient feel special. It’s also a kind of present that no one else will have. Monogrammed bags, for example, are available all year, you don’t have to wait in line to get one, and you know you’re buying a present that is truly unique.
Budget Better
Most wait until the holiday season to buy gifts, but unless you’ve purposely saved throughout the year, you’ll need to rely on credit cards or dip into savings. Buying gifts throughout the year helps you to balance the budget out more evenly. If you have twenty people on your list, that’s about two gifts per month. An extra cost better handled versus needing twenty presents in the month of December.
Choose Better Gifts
Let’s face it. When you are rushing to get gifts for all on your list, you’re bound to make a few errors in choosing the right present per person. When you spread the task over the year, you can choose better gifts for each. Some peruse a person’s social media account to get ideas of things they like and dislike, products and brands they advocate, and favorite pastimes and hobbies.
Take Notes
Take note of items that made successful gifts, for you may use that idea again in the coming year for another. Also, note websites that host great sales, brands that provide discounts to regular customers, and methods of buying on and offline that save time. Stay mindful of things you like too; and, rather commit to an impulse purchase, buy a gift instead.
Isolate the Top Three
Identify the top three big ticket items. Introduce even more strategy into purchasing these as to save more money. It may entail sleeping out in front of a brick and mortar store, being savvy in locating online deals or making a time-sensitive purchase on a certain day of the year. Identifying the top three items makes it easier to budget money, locate a good deal, and secure a purchase while supplies last.
Don’t Buy New
The cost of a gift should not matter. Therefore, you don’t have to buy something new. Plenty of great presents can be found at garage sales or in secondhand thrift shops. Some prefer old antiques or obsolete items, such as typewriters or 35-millimeter cameras anyway. Buying used items will ensure you are getting them something unique and thoughtful, plus you’ll save money! Check out stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army weekly to see what’s new!