It’s not too early to start Christmas shopping well before the first leaves fall, especially if you suffer from procrastination, dread of shopping on “Black Friday” or fear of mountainous bills. With some planning and eyes on deals, you can spend more time enjoying Christmas and less time rushing and fretting.
Make like Santa and start making your list and checking it twice or thrice or more. Your list should have all those for whom you plan to buy presents. Next to each person, make notes of anything which stands out to you as something the person wants or needs.
Start your shopping no later than three months before Christmas, if possible. This allows you to shop for Christmas incrementally and spread out the time and bills.
If your Christmas list includes clothes, search for seasonal clearance items. Fall and winter clothes are typically placed on clearance by stores near the end of winter and start of spring, while spring and summer clothes are typically on clearance within a few weeks of Labor Day. Clearance means markdowns, many of which result in significant savings.
If you find a good or great gift on sale, buy it immediately. If you wait for the “blockbuster” “Black Friday” “early bird” specials, you risk losing sleep and peace with a good chance that the specials will be gone because quantities are typically limited and don’t last long. Take advantage of the deals as they arrive. Stores often have specials during holidays such as Labor Day and Veteran’s Day.
Watch television–not the commercials, but shop-at-home channels. In addition to lower than average-retail prices, these channels allow you to make anywhere from three to five monthly payments on your credit card. Depending on the channel, these payment plans are called “value pays” or “flex pays” or “easy payments.” You can further spread the costs over time with payment plans.
Even before the children can trick-or-treat, stores are selling Christmas decorations. Now is a good time to get those Christmas lights and tree decorations so you can spend Black Friday decorating, not hunting for decorations.