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Frugal Holidays - Week of Nov 5th
By Mommie | November 5, 2008
So this week I just wanted to reiterate some of the items that seem to suck your holiday money away. These are some of the extras we pay for in order for convienice. Keep reading to see how to avoid the holiday pitfalls…
I’ve run into these pitfalls at one point or another every Christmas. It’s usually due to the lack of planning on my part. Here’s some of the classic pitfalls and how to get around them:
1. Gift Wrapping - Seriously folks, if your going to pay for someone else to wrap your gift, you might as well hire a shopper to buy all your gifts to. This can cost up to $10, depending how sparkly pretty you want the package. Places like Amazon also offer this at checkout, but just skip it. Wrap them yourself, it gives it a personal touch and gives you a better connection with the gift your giving.
2. Shipping Costs - Depending on how bad of a planner you are, you can pay $25 easy just to ship a gift. Always, always, always search out the sites that give you free shipping. Sites like Buy.com have free shipping, it’s almost like a sale that you can take advantage of. Amazon runs this as well, but be careful, it’s not on all items!
3. Sales Tax - If you must go out shopping to a brick and mortar then just be aware of the sales tax consequences of your purchase. Purchasing a large ticket item in a city with a lower sales tax can save you some serious dough at the checkout. Make sure and check your internet sites before you buy to see if they charge sales tax and how much.
4. Silly Extras - So you buy a gift card, but do you need the $3 envelope to put the card in? Thinking no on that one. It’s little things like this that will suck your money away. Do you need the embroidered gift tag for $5? Skip it and make your own…
These are just a few of the ways to get around some of the little holiday pitfalls. Happy shopping!
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Topics: Holidays |
November 6th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Great tips! It’s amazing how the wrapping and little extras add up!