Have you started your Christmas and holiday shopping yet? I admit, I start early and started back in late June. I always start early and try to finish before Thanksgiving arrives! Typically the only things I pick up after Turkey day are edible gifts or last-minute things…but the bulk of my shopping is always done!
A lot of holiday shoppers wait until Black Friday and Cyber Monday to start buying. I don’t! I find better deals and save a lot more money by shopping throughout the year. I shop a variety of offline retailers and online stores. One thing is for certain, I rarely pay full price…RARE. I’m a frugal bargain hunter!
Last month I walked into a store and found a bin of plush throw blankets on final clearance for $2.98 each. Seriously? Yeah! They had 10 different colors to choose from and all were first-quality, meaning no damage at all. For $3.00 each I picked up 8 of them for a total of $24.00. I know who I’m giving 5 of them to so I selected colors those 5 people would love. The 3-extra ones will go into my gift bin for when I need them. That’s a heck of a deal!
Everyone can use a new throw blanket and these are those velvet plus ones…super-soft and cozy. They come wrapped with a ribbon. I can drop each one into a gift bag that I picked up at the Dollar Tree with a sheet of tissue paper and be done! A nice Christmas gift for less than $5.00 total.
We have a friend and his wife that love going out on winery taste-testing tours, visiting micro-breweries, and mixing up their own cocktail drinks. At another store we found a bottle of Margaritaville Mango Margarita Mix and a bottle of Jelly Belly Mojito Mix marked down to $3.00 a bottle. We picked up one of each. They’ll make the perfect holiday gift for them along with the 2 hand-painted wine glasses that I picked up 2 months ago for $5.00 each. Total gift cost of $16.00 plus add on the bag, tissue paper, and gift-tag…less than $20.00 for a gift that I know they’ll love.
In today’s economy it pays to shop smart and to start early! Even if the economy was swinging along wonderfully…I still would be a smart shopper. Why? Because I love to save money and spend that money on things that we really want for ourselves or to put away for vacation.
As soon as I enter a store…I’m on the lookout for their clearance racks and bins. I don’t mind rummaging through things to find a great deal. If you want to save money on Christmas and the holidays…you have to start early and I mean EARLY. Don’t shop just one or two stores, shop many stores to find the deals that you deserve.
I too shop for Christmas and birthday gifts all year long. I am always on th elookout for the clearance section and bargains.
That is an amazing deal on those throw blankets! I try to get most of my Christmas shopping done by the end of October, but I do save a few of the pricier items for Black Friday.
I shop for Christmas and gift all year. The giveaways help fill that box too. 🙂