Plan ahead for holiday shopping
November 7, 2008
It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is less than three weeks away! And we all know what Thanksgiving ushers in, the official start of the holiday shopping season.
Many people will rush to the stores in the early morning hours on the day after Thanksgiving, commonly known as Black Friday, to try to get good bargains on holiday gifts.
Before you set your alarm for 4 a.m. and prepare to deal with a crush of holiday shoppers, take some time to make a plan for yourself so that you don’t go overboard and end up with a post-holiday debt hangover.
The first thing I would recommend is to avoid shopping on Black Friday. People tend to spend more money when they feel stressed in a store, and if Black Friday shopping isn’t stress, I don’t know what its.
Take into account the following tips:
- Create a budget that includes all costs you will incur such as gifts, wrapping paper, stamps, baking ingredients, and entertaining.
- Make a list of everything you need, and set aside time to shop on a weekday when the stores are less likely to be crowded. You are more likely to overspend when the stores are crowded.
- Avoid last-minute shopping. You are also more likely to overspend when you feel rushed.
- Pay for as much as you can with cash. Put a designated amount of cash in an envelope when shopping, so you know exactly how much money is leaving your hands.
- If you use a credit card, rubber band a piece of paper to your credit card, and immediately write down the date, amount and merchant for each purchase.
- Use low-rate credit cards, and avoid using high-rate department store cards.
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