Online or In Line: Holiday Shopping Savvy and Safety

There are two types of holiday shoppers in the world: the ones who love the crush of the crowd and the thrill of the deal, and everyone else. No matter which category you fall into, a little preparation and planning before you hit the mall or the keyboard means that you'll save money, stress less and be ready for whatever the season has to offer.

Plan Ahead
Before you start shopping, decide how much you are going to spend on gifts this holiday season. Create a list of people you plan to give gifts to this year. Don't forget teachers, coaches, hairdressers, babysitters, and everyone else you plan to thank. Next, decide how much you will spend on each person. Add up the expected cost and if your expenses are over budget, it's time to start trimming the list.

In Line Shopping
A little known secret of the retail world is that when a major store announces a holiday sale starting on a certain day, sale prices are often loaded into the computer system the evening before. So, if a large department store is advertising special holiday discounts, it might be worth your while to stop by after six p.m. the previous evening.¹

If You Don't Ask, You'll Never Know
Ask the store employees about any unadvertised coupons or sales starting up that week. Many retailers offer special discounts and coupons through customer loyalty programs.

Gift Cards: Know the Deal
Gift cards always fit and never go out of style. Easy to buy and fun to get, they are growing in popularity, and most national chains, as well as banks and major credit card companies offer them. But some cards, particularly those offered by malls and credit card companies, assess “maintenance” or “inactivity” fees if the card is not used within a certain time period. By the time the card recipient gets around to using your gift card, they may be in for a sad awakening. Make sure you check the fine print and find out when or if the card expires.²

Online Shopping
Every year the number of online holiday shoppers grows. Why not? It's a great time saver and it's only getting easier.

There are even opportunities to save money while shopping online, by checking for online coupons at sites such as couponcabin.com, 247malls.com, monkeybargains.com or fatwallet.com. The websites Ebates.com, Butteflymall.com and mypoints.com, give customers two to five percent of their money back on purchases from hundreds of retail chains, including Target and Gap.³

Be Alert Online
As always, online shoppers must guard against identity theft. Make sure you are dealing with a reputable retailer, and that they have a secure server. Never give out your online password or PIN number, and save all website information, receipts, and tracking information.