How to Double Your Savings on Christmas Shopping Deals

December 2, 2006

Looking for some deals this Christmas? Understanding the strategy behind retailer’s sales can help you save twice as much!

Retail Strategies
The reason retailers have sales is to convince us to buy from them. The promotions they run have two main goals:

1) Get us into the store

2) Convince us to spend the most money once we’re there

The first goal is more difficult to accomplish than the second. Once we’re in the store, it is easier to sell to us. This means that the promotions they offer to get us into the store must be more enticing than the in-store sales.

Choosing the Right Offer
If we can take advantage of the more lucrative offers, then we can save more money. A common way retailers try and get us into the store is by sending us coupons by mail or email. These coupons frequently offer better savings than the sales you find in the store.

I Doubled My Savings
We got a coupon in the mail for a buy one get one free deal. I stopped into the store today to do some Christmas shopping and left with the best deal.

The items I wanted to buy were $9.50 each. They had an in-store offer, buy 3 get 1 free. Instead I used two of my buy one, get one free coupons that I had brought along.

I left the store with 4 items, having paid $19. Had I used the in-store offer I would have gotten 4 items for $28.50.

Full price would have been $38. By using the coupons I was mailed I saved 50%, if I would have gone with the in-store sale I would have only saved 25%. I doubled my savings! Not only that, I saved a little more by paying sales tax on a smaller purchase price.

Shop Smart this Christmas
Of course my example was only one purchase. But these savings can add up with all the gifts we buy at Christmas time. The key here, as it is with most personal finance success, is doing your research and planning ahead.

If you can’t score a great coupon the best place I’ve found for getting Christmas deals is eBay. Happy Shopping!

Ben

Will this article help you save or earn more money? Get others like it simply by entering your email address below. Your email is used only for delivering daily money tips and you can opt out of delivery at any time. Click here to see all your free subscription options.

  

Ben
Ben Edwards, the founder of Money Smart Life, saved up enough to buy a Nintendo back when he was 12 years old. When he used the money to buy shares of Wal-Mart stock instead, he knew he wasn't like the other kids... His addiction to personal finance has paid off for his family and now he's helping you to afford the life that you want. Check him out on the web at Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

All posts by

Comments

8 Responses to How to Double Your Savings on Christmas Shopping Deals

  • Armanda

    There were A LOT of great deals this holiday season. I recommend shopping online because almost every retailer has some huge markdown.

    You can find a lot of useful website to help you find these deals

  • Gift Cards

    Plastic Jungle offers huge discounts on gift cards! Up to 40% off in most cases! That’s right, you can buy a $100 gift card for only $60! Or swap your gift cards that you have no use for!

  • Jenn

    There are a ton of websites that gather coupon codes and deals for shoppers to use. They can be really useful, especially if you can be a bit flexible with what or when you buy.

    One of those sites is CheapTweet. It aggregates deals for all kinds of products, so there’s something there for everyone.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  • Chrsistmas Deals this Weekend | Money Smart Life
  • Carnival of Shopping #6
  • Putting Your Finances In Order | Ask Mr Credit Card's Blog
  • Christmas Shopping and Saving Tips for a Troubled Economy | Money Smart Life
  • Become's Pocket Change