1. Go cash only. Set a budget, and put that amount of cash in an envelope. Feel rich for about 5 minutes. Use only cash for your Christmas shopping, even if you have to pay for some items separately at checkout. If you buy something online, take that amount of cash out of your envelope and take it back to the bank.
2. Shop through
. Go to Ebates first and then click through to your favorite sites from there. You'll get cash back for every purchase (they put it right in my paypal account!) You can find TONS of stores on ebates, including Walmart and even Groupon.3. Check Black Friday ads - - if you already bought something with a Visa or Mastercard and then it goes on sale for Black Friday, Visa and MC will refund the difference, as part of their normal price protection program.
4. Sign up for emails from your favorite money-saving sites (I get the ones from Money Saving Mom and Pinching Your Pennies). They will direct you to great deals every time. For example, today I got an email alert from PYP that 20-pack AA batteries were on sale at ToysRUs.com for $5.99, plus they were buy 1 get 1 free. The email suggested I sign up for a free 30 day trial of the ToysRUs free shipping program, ShopRunner. I did all of that, and my total for 40 batteries came to $6.74 with tax. I paid that amount with the Ebates money in my Paypal account, making the batteries totally free! (Of course, I'll have to make sure to cancel that free trial of ShopRunner before it expires)
5. EVERY time you go to Walmart, ask if it is 50% off clearance day. They do this randomly (usually on the weekend), but if you're lucky, you'll be able to get 50% off clearance toys, clothes, kitchen goods and more.
6. Don't discount the value of homemade! I'm making my sis something for her very-close-to-Christmas birthday, and I think she's going to love it! (I hope)
All you seasoned shoppers are probably done with your Christmas shopping already, but for the rest of us...have fun!
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