Christmas is just 21 days away. If we want to simplify Christmas and drop the stress of spending too much, we need to have started our shopping months ago. On the other hand, there's something to be said for some of the outstanding sales we can find at no better time than smack dab in the middle of the Christmas season! Last week, I found three pairs of perfect fitting pants from Old Navy for $1.73 each. Yesterday, I bought a beautiful $50.00 sweater from Kohl's and paid $1.82.
Stores want your business and they're competing with every other store you have access to so they're offering crazy deals! They're banking on the fact that once they've got you hooked by a crazy deal, you'll find a multitude of "must haves" on your way to the check-out. The trick is to do your homework and fiercely stick to the list.
How do you do your homework? You network with websites like slickdeals.net, where the bargain bloodhounds do the work and make it easy for you to find amazing gifts for nearly nothing. Now, I must give credit where credit is due: it's also a good idea to network with friends who are uniquely anointed by God with the spiritual gift of bargain hunting. They like to shop - but more than that, they can zero in on a bargain with lightning speed. Furthermore, they like it! I have one particular friend who is thus gifted. She knows me well and has a keen eye for sales opportunities I might not want to pass up. She regularly sends me links to major deals, many of which I pursue. I often think I probably ought to pay and keep her on retainer for the last two months of the year. She has saved me hundreds of dollars over the years.
One thing I find very beneficial is shopping online. When I'm in a store, I'm tempted by the plethora of product displayed in such a way as to entice me and unfortunately I often succumb to the pressure and buy what I don't need. I also get tired and weary from all the walking and hunting and bag carrying, so I end up picking up a green and purple sweater and say, "Eh, it'll do." I don't want to end up with "It'll do" purchases if I can help it. If you avoid online shopping because you're worried about the added shipping costs , I've found that most stores offer free shipping codes, and if not, they typically offer to ship your package to a local store for free.
With only 21 days left before Christmas, there's no time to waste. Now is the time to snatch up those deals. Soon, it will be too late to assure timely shipping not to mention the closer we get to Christmas, the more we feel like going with the "It'll do" approach and we end up spending far more than we planned on.
Happy Shopping! (Because there's fun in shopping - there's just no fun in obligatory gift buying pressure or debt.)
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