With holiday shopping here, it's time to get serious about your budget and gift list. Likely, you've already heard about supply chain issues and shipping delays and what those issues may mean for holiday shoppers. But what else should you be focusing on to make things go more smoothly for you and your wallet?
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To find out, GOBankingRates, interviewed various financial and shopping experts. Here are their top strategies for saving on holiday shopping this year.
Get Granular With Your Budget
"Be as specific as possible when creating your budget," said consumer analyst, Julie Ramhold, with DealNews.com. "If you're noting the gifting part of your budget, make sure you detail who you're shopping for as well as how much you can afford to spend on each person."
Open a Christmas Club Account
"This may be too late for 2022, but you can still open a savings Christmas account, so that next year you're more prepared," said Karen Ford, master financial coach and author of the No. 1 Amazon bestselling book "Money Matters." "Place $100 in it each payday -- or you determine the amount you plan on spending on Christmas next year -- and divide that up by 52 weeks, and place the set amount each week or each payday."
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Study the Ads
"When making your holiday shopping list (and budget) peruse those [holiday] ads in great detail. If there are items you're planning to buy, be sure to note the retailer, when the deal starts, and what the price is meant to be. Consider saving a link to the ad in a spreadsheet along with what page the deal is on to get hyper-organized (and in case you need to double-check later on before purchasing)," Ramhold said.
Join Loyalty Programs
"Plenty of stores have loyalty programs that are free to join, and have at least a free basic tier that will provide rewards," Ramhold said. "Be sure to sign up for these as you could be earning points or other perks on all your purchases during the holiday season which can then translate to immediate savings or discounts later on down the road."
Sign Up for Emails
Find Deals on Hard-to-Locate Items
"Some gifts will be tough to find this year," Bodge said. "A good way to find those items is to set a deal alert for them on Slickdeals because retailers often have sales once a shipment arrives so they can sell through that merchandise. If you don't receive a notification and time is getting tight, you can try posting an inquiry on a Slickdeals message board. They have a very active community of deal seekers that has been helpful in finding elusive items."