Shopping Guides

Holiday Shopping Mistakes You Need to Avoid

Spending mistakes during Holiday shopping can cost you a lot more than you actually realize!

When you see amazing deals during the holiday season, it is definitely tempting to go crazy. But the problem is you may end up in debt after the endless shopping sprees. Especially if you are managing to make a real salary, you feel free to spend as much as you want. Anyone with an internet subscription to affordable packages such as spectrum internet is now hooked on online shopping. By the end of all that massive spending, you realize that it’s actually important to have a holiday survival guide that could help you avoid these stupid shopping mistakes and scams.

Holiday savings strategies can actually help you save a good deal of money. You can still buy all the gifts that you planned without having to overspend on distractions. Don’t let the most amazing time of the year turn into the most stressful one. In this blog post, we are going to help you figure out and avoid some of the common holiday mistakes. That way you can enjoy holiday shopping and not feel stressed afterwards.

    • Mistake 1: Breaking the Budget

      Do you know that around one-third Americans do not bother creating a budget for holidays? No wonder, they find themselves in debt later. We can’t emphasize enough on the significance of fixing a budget. If you are hitting the holiday sales without a planned budget, your financial failure is guaranteed. Buying things without paying attention to how much is already spent is not wise. You could even end up having hundreds or thousands of dollars of debt, especially if you are using credit cards for shopping.

      Also, before you even head out to your favorite stores or you start browsing for online selling sites like eBay or Amazon, take some time to fix a budget for all the items/gifts that you have in mind. Setting a limit for all the gifts and then sticking to it is a good idea. Don’t get carried away when you think something is cooler because it costs just $50 more.

      You may wish to explore the top gift ideas under $50

      To help you not ignore your set budget, let us enlighten you that around 65% of adults set a budget for holidays and yet 77% of those exceed their budgets and end up in debts. So, beware!

    • Mistake 2: Not Making a Proper List

      Without making a list, Holiday shopping is as dangerous as it is without fixing a budget. Overspending becomes easy when you shop without a list but you keep making guesses at what to buy. This becomes distracting and you end up buying things that you found irresistible, even when you don’t need them. By the end, you have purchased tons of gifts with a busted budget and you are not even sure what have you bought for whom.

      Making a list of gifts for everyone will help you have an organized shopping trip. You can easily track your spending with the list. If you don’t like making extensive lists, there are plenty of helpful apps that can help you track your shopping expenditure and purchases.

    • Mistake 3: Falling a Victim to the So-Called Sale

      The biggest thing that can easily lure you into shopping extravagantly is a sale. The idea that you are going to ‘save money’ is the culprit. Do not fall into that trap. Unless you buy things that, you actually need or things that were there on your list, do not buy anything in the name of sale. Furthermore, always keep in mind that the very prices advertised in holidays are not the only good deals out there. Do not be fooled under the notion of catching the highest discounts.

      The way around this is to stock up before season or holidays. Keep an eye on sale during that time, check the flyers, and then buy items you are sure that you will need during holidays. Especially in the case of grocery items, do stock up provided you have room in your pantry or freezer.

    • Mistake 4: Not Doing Comparison-Shopping

      The Internet is conveniently available to let you compare prices of all the top selling brands online. As for the offline shopping, you need to look around before you decide to shop a particular item. Make sure you are not throwing away your hard-earned money for something sold for 40 dollars less right in the next store. Investing some time in comparing prices will help you save a lot of money.

    • Mistake 5: Losing the Receipts

      Many people are quick to toss away the receipts in the bin once they go home after shopping. Throwing away or misplacing your receipts is actually a bad idea because those were the legitimate record of the purchased items. If any of your purchases turn out to be damaged or defective, you have no proof to claim. If those pieces of paper are annoying, then keep the evidence electronically.

    • Mistake 6: Enticed by Credit Card Deals

      With so many attractive advertisements by stores offering enticing deals on credit cards during holidays, you may not think rationally. Just stop yourself for a moment! Consider how much more interest money you may end up paying if you used a credit card instead of cash. However, if you must do it, at least track the spending. One such deal that is typically offered by many stores on credit card is called deferred interest. It can work out great if you pay the interest off before their promotional time ends. However, you could still end up in huge debt if interest on a store credit card is allowed to kick in.

This whole list may overwhelm some of you shopaholics. Worry not! Just be smart and shop around these days to save some money:

      • For Christmas tree shopping, hit the stores in the last week of December. They along with tinsel and ornaments can be bought for up to eighty percent off.
      • For travel deals there are Cyber Mondays; it is the Monday immediately after Thanksgiving. Many airlines, cruise lines, and hotels usually offer packages with added amenities. It is just like Black Friday but online. The only difference is that some sales go on for a couple of days.
      • Columbus Day is the long weekend in October, which now is fading. Therefore, you won’t find good sales as compared to other weekends. However, if you are interested to get household items, you may find a few good deals.
      • Hit the clearance racks in winters for any leftover summer clothing items at well above fifty percent off.
      • There is something known as tax-free weekend when there is no sales tax on certain items. But this is only in a few states and is usually held in the month of August. Clothing, computers, footwear and school supplies are among the common sales items.

But Wait
Why would you want to stand in a long, line in cold to save only a fraction of an amount?  Why wouldn’t you shop online from the comfort of home? Ok, maybe you do not have an internet connection. That is not a big deal. All you need to do is get in touch with Charter Spectrum customer service and subscribe to their internet package. After that, you can look up items, do price comparisons, catch trending sales, and much more with ease!

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