Wow, it's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is upon us and Christmas is right around the corner! And of course we couldn't enter the holiday season without the buzz about the best deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I have never been brave enough to fight the crowds and just the thought of getting up at the crack of dawn just to wait in line and maybe get the item I am looking for makes me cringe. The good news is for those of you night owls, many stores are opening their doors at midnight on the 25th. Even better news is that even if you don't partake in Black Friday, there will be many other ways to save this season and as a prudent financial planner (and shopper for that matter), I wanted to share some helpful hints on how to save and survive the shopping madness this holiday season.
According to an American Express survey, while more than 2/3 of consumers actually have a budget, 1/2 will stick to it. I cannot express how important a budget is as the first step in holiday shopping. Without a budget, it is so easy to grab a gift here and there and not realize how much it all adds up to. The sooner you start planning your holiday shopping, the more money you can set aside and the more carefully you can select and personalize gifts at the best price. Americans will spend an average of $831 on gifts this season, which is actually $121 more than last year. But while they plan on spending more, they are also savvier than ever and plan on using a range of tactics to stay within budget while not compromising on gift giving potential. So what are these tactics?
First off, I'm going to assume many of you have smart phones. This season, your smart phone can be your best shopping buddy. Take Red Laser for instance. This super handy free App for your iPhone or Android phone can perform wonders. All you have to do is scan a product's barcode (or other type of code on the product) and this App can pull up other retailers of the product and their prices in an instant. This certainly gives customers the advantage and will in turn cause retailers to have more competitive prices. Not to mention it will save us a lot of time knowing we don't have to hop from place to place but rather just glance at our phones to know if there's a better deal somewhere else. While I think the most relevant feature is the price comparison, there are many other cool things that Red Laser can do. It provides product reviews, finds books in libraries and can even check food allergens and nutrition!
Next on the list of savings tactics, and also available on your smart phones, is coupons offered online either on the retailer's website, coupon websites or through social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. Many retailers now accept coupons on your phone and don't require printed coupons. Taking it even a step further, some stores (Macy's and JCPenney to name a couple), have signs in the stores with phone-scannable codes that pull up their website and sometimes coupons on your phone's web browser. You'll need one of the scanning Apps such as Red Laser to do this. You can also go to the store's website and sign up online to receive coupons. This certainly means you will be added to their email distribution list, but you can unsubscribe after you have received the coupons you need if you don't want to receive future emails. Some stores offer exclusive deals if you "like" them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. And while you are on Facebook, feel free to "like" the Alder Financial Group as well! Last but not least, you can always search online for coupons and print them out. It's funny how this has almost become the "old school" way of coupon clipping. Some good sites for finding coupons are RetailMeNot.com, couponcabin.com, and coupons.com, but of course there are many more. I often start by just doing a Google search for the store I'm looking for and see what I find.
And now back to Black Friday. As stressful as it can be, there are certainly deals for which the pain is worth the gain. Experts are saying that this year retailers are less stocked and therefore not as eager to lower prices. With not as much inventory to go around, those willing to stay up late or get up early, depending on the store, and fight the crowds will have first dibs. But online shoppers can also take advantage of Black Friday from the comfort of their couch. Best Buy for example claims it will be offering 95% of its Black Friday ad items online for the same price. I have also seen that many stores are offering free shipping. Amazon.com aims to match prices for products they have in stock. It might not be a good idea to wait around for Cyber Monday if you see a good deal since there will likely be less availability as the weekend progresses. The bottom line is do your homework and find out where and when the items you are looking for will be at the lowest prices. Then you can decide if the price difference is worth the effort.
I hope this article helps give you some ideas on how to give the gifts you want to give and save money. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and if you decide to venture out on Black Friday, be sure to pack a water bottle, a phone charger and your patience.
According to an American Express survey, while more than 2/3 of consumers actually have a budget, 1/2 will stick to it. I cannot express how important a budget is as the first step in holiday shopping. Without a budget, it is so easy to grab a gift here and there and not realize how much it all adds up to. The sooner you start planning your holiday shopping, the more money you can set aside and the more carefully you can select and personalize gifts at the best price. Americans will spend an average of $831 on gifts this season, which is actually $121 more than last year. But while they plan on spending more, they are also savvier than ever and plan on using a range of tactics to stay within budget while not compromising on gift giving potential. So what are these tactics?
First off, I'm going to assume many of you have smart phones. This season, your smart phone can be your best shopping buddy. Take Red Laser for instance. This super handy free App for your iPhone or Android phone can perform wonders. All you have to do is scan a product's barcode (or other type of code on the product) and this App can pull up other retailers of the product and their prices in an instant. This certainly gives customers the advantage and will in turn cause retailers to have more competitive prices. Not to mention it will save us a lot of time knowing we don't have to hop from place to place but rather just glance at our phones to know if there's a better deal somewhere else. While I think the most relevant feature is the price comparison, there are many other cool things that Red Laser can do. It provides product reviews, finds books in libraries and can even check food allergens and nutrition!
Next on the list of savings tactics, and also available on your smart phones, is coupons offered online either on the retailer's website, coupon websites or through social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. Many retailers now accept coupons on your phone and don't require printed coupons. Taking it even a step further, some stores (Macy's and JCPenney to name a couple), have signs in the stores with phone-scannable codes that pull up their website and sometimes coupons on your phone's web browser. You'll need one of the scanning Apps such as Red Laser to do this. You can also go to the store's website and sign up online to receive coupons. This certainly means you will be added to their email distribution list, but you can unsubscribe after you have received the coupons you need if you don't want to receive future emails. Some stores offer exclusive deals if you "like" them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. And while you are on Facebook, feel free to "like" the Alder Financial Group as well! Last but not least, you can always search online for coupons and print them out. It's funny how this has almost become the "old school" way of coupon clipping. Some good sites for finding coupons are RetailMeNot.com, couponcabin.com, and coupons.com, but of course there are many more. I often start by just doing a Google search for the store I'm looking for and see what I find.
And now back to Black Friday. As stressful as it can be, there are certainly deals for which the pain is worth the gain. Experts are saying that this year retailers are less stocked and therefore not as eager to lower prices. With not as much inventory to go around, those willing to stay up late or get up early, depending on the store, and fight the crowds will have first dibs. But online shoppers can also take advantage of Black Friday from the comfort of their couch. Best Buy for example claims it will be offering 95% of its Black Friday ad items online for the same price. I have also seen that many stores are offering free shipping. Amazon.com aims to match prices for products they have in stock. It might not be a good idea to wait around for Cyber Monday if you see a good deal since there will likely be less availability as the weekend progresses. The bottom line is do your homework and find out where and when the items you are looking for will be at the lowest prices. Then you can decide if the price difference is worth the effort.
I hope this article helps give you some ideas on how to give the gifts you want to give and save money. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and if you decide to venture out on Black Friday, be sure to pack a water bottle, a phone charger and your patience.
