Tips For Holiday Shopping - Lisa's Two Cents

I cannot believe Thanksgiving is TOMORROW! Time has flown! I need to get my house in check and have so many things to do around the house today – good thing it’s rainy and cold – I’m forced inside to tidy it up!

Today I wanted to share my holiday shopping “routine” so to speak. I noticed there are things I do every single year and I figured they would be worth sharing! Speaking of worth sharing, my holiday gift guides are out and I’m sharing a couple each week! You can check out the guides below:
Toddler Gift Guide
Ladies Gift Guide
Mens Gift Guide

UTILIZING FREE CASH BACK REWARDS

First off, Rakuten is an absolute MUST USE. I have the plug-in extension on my Google browser and it will pop up and automatically show you if that particular site has a cash back opportunity. From there, you click the “Activate xx% cash back” button and it will link automatically to your account. Make sure you have it activated on the tab you are checking out in.

You can sign up for free here and start earning cash back just for shopping! They are offering a spend $40 at any retailer, earn $40 cash back. It is honestly the best – I’ve earned $500 over the past 4 years simply by checking if there is an opportunity to earn cash back through the retailer.

Another thing I absolutely love – the Target RedCard. I’ve shared this before, but saving 5% every time you use it is amazing. My RedCard is a debit card which I personally LOVE – I do not like having credit cards and honestly don’t even use them anymore! It always screws up my budgeting and honestly gives me a false sense of reality.

IMPORTANCE OF THINKING AHEAD AND LAYING OUT YOUR BUDGET

When it comes to shopping for the holidays, I like to make a list in Excel of every person we have to buy a gift for. I will also include a gift dollar amount next to their name to help me from a budgeting perspective. If I have any gift ideas for the individual, I will generally make note of it at this time next to their name.

I also downloaded the Christmas Gift List Tracker last year and that was such a helpful tool to have on hand ALWAYS!

All the planning and these lists make it easier when doing your holiday shopping on the go or online.

Another tip on planning ahead, look through the ads or any emails that the retailer has sent out giving you a heads up on any deals out there.

Finding the deals

While I am online shopping, I am the queen of opening 1,000,000 tabs, but I love that I can browse the deals so quickly and put “aside” the things I like without losing my place in browsing. After a while, I’ll then go through each tab and filter out the items either adding to my cart or deleting the tab. A lot of the time after my browsing is complete and I’ve found good gifts, deals, etc. I will look even further into the product reading reviews or comparing similar products. Sometimes the best deals are with lousy products, so I like to make sure I’m not ordering junk!

There are also times I will create a “wish list” or “save items for later” – this helps me from getting confused and forgetting about potential gifts. If I see a sale or promotion going on via email or any blogger friends, I will then go back to the list to see if it is part of the sale. This has been SO helpful for me having all my items in one spot! Then when I can get it for a good deal, I move it into my cart – DONE!

Think beyond gifting

Is there something you wanted to purchase for yourself for your home or some item you need restocked? Black Friday and Christmas sales are a great way to purchase items not only for Christmas and gifting, but for everyday usage or something to be used in a following season. I’ve purchased bar stools, appliances, make up, clothes for the kiddos (I will be making a post about how I purchase my kids clothes – I do a “bulk haul” twice a year), etc. during the holiday shopping season. Now is a great time to take inventory on items that you use or will use always and see if there are any great deals. For example, we’ve been considering purchasing a small-sized refrigerator for our garage and we will be keeping an eye out to see what specials/offers they have going on!

Hoping this helps you get organized and save some money this holiday season!

Wishing you and your family a happy and healthy Thanksgiving Day!