Tips For Shopping Smarter This Holiday Season
DETROIT (WWJ) - With the holiday season in full swing, it can often be hard to shop smart once you hit the stores. ShopSmart magazine is sharing a few tips that will help get all of your holiday shopping done without blowing your budget.
"A lot of factors influence how you shop when you head out to the stores," Lisa Lee Freeman, editor-in-chief of ShopSmart, said in a statement. "Everything from who you're shopping with to whether or not you've made a budget in advance can influence your purchase decisions. To help you shop smarter, ShopSmart came up with some simple ways to stay focused, save big, and not get swept away in the holiday frenzy."
Follow these four steps for smarter shopping:
1. Shop alone. You'll spend less time and money.
2. Make a budget. Then add 10 percent for wrapping, packing, and last-minute buying for people who surprise you with a gift. (Buy a few nice things on sale to have on hand).
3. Pay cash when possible. People who use plastic tend to spend more.
4. Haggle. Most shoppers don't try to negotiate, but those who did said that they saved an average of $82 in stores on TVs, cameras, and other consumer electronics.
If you prefer shopping online, more major e-tailers are offering free shipping with no minimum purchase required. They include L.L.Bean, Nordstrom, and shoe sites Endless, Piperlime, and Zappos. Others, including Best Buy and Pottery Barn, ship select items for free.
Also, avoid paying extra for mailing last-minute gifts. Put these deadlines for ground shipping on your calendar: December 15 for the U.S. Postal Service and December 16 for UPS and FedEx.
Outlet stores are a great place to save if you know how to spot the good stuff. ShopSmart's fabrics expert recently compared outlet and regular-store items and found that the latter were generally better quality. But there were a few exceptions, and they're all popular gifts: Gap cotton boxer shorts, polo shirts, and T-shirts. The outlet versions turned out to be even better than those we found at regular stores and they cost as little as half the price.
Several stores also have price-matching policies. Check all the local sales papers and highlight the good deals. Then, go to a retailer that offers price-matching. You can get more of your shopping done in one location. Plus, you'll be saving money.
Stressed about what to buy a picky friend? See if she has an Amazon Wish List or go to Facebook and see if the new "Want" button is up and running.
Happy shopping!
