It’s that time again.
The joyous time of the year, where sales run fast and savings are high.
But – you don’t feel so joyous, in fact, you’re pretty down.
You feel trapped. How can you keep up with all the sales and manage your day-to-day responsibilities?
You’re afraid that this time of savings will slip by without you making a move.
What’s worse?
When you realize the one item you liked yesterday has gone off sale, jumped to full price and all you can do is gawk at the screen with your mouth hanging open.
Another opportunity, lost.
Now, you’ll have to pay full price and blow your budget for November and December.
Or will you?
It doesn’t have to be like this!
You don’t have to experience that heart-wrenching feeling of blowing your budget.
Not anymore.
Let’s make this year different, together.
When January comes, you should feel great about the gifts you gave, the hearts we warmed and of course the money you saved by planning ahead.
Of course, saying it is much different than doing it, so below I’ve compiled 7 ways to save Hundreds this Christmas and Shopping Season.
- Sign up for Text Alerts
I know red alerts might be flashing – bear with me for a second.
Although this is the most intrusive way to get notifications, it works and it’s likely to save you over $100 if you’re after a HOT item.
Think about it – wouldn’t you react faster to a sale if you were to receive a text, rather than checking your email?
When items go down in price, you can bet that my team will be sending the deals via text so you don’t miss them. You might get up to five texts per day, but only on the hottest items of the season and only through the shopping season (we wouldn’t want to spam you with mediocre offers!).
To sign up for text alerts, text FOLLOW CCHOTDEALS to 40404, you can expect to receive about 2-4 texts per day of the BEST deals that might run out before the newsletter goes out.
If you do not have unlimited texts I recommend signing up for the newsletter instead.
Please note, Twitter is used to send the texts but you do not need to be a Twitter user to receive the texts.
- Add CouponCravings blog to your home page
Imagine this:
You open your home page, and see all the hottest deals.
Perfect, right?
Imagine all the saved time! The best part – it’s easy to set up!
For apple users:
- On your mobile device, open couponcravings.com
- Press the square with the arrow coming out of the top
- Press Add to Home Screen
- You’ll get an icon on the home page of your apple device that will allow you to
On Firefox on Android:
- On your mobile device, open couponcravings.com
- Open Firefox for Android and go to your favorite web page.
- Press the Menu button (either below the screen on some devices or at the top-right corner of the browser) , then tap on Page.
- Tap Add to Home Screen.
- Your shortcut should now appear on your home screen.
On Chrome on Android:
- On your mobile device, open couponcravings.com
- Tap the Chrome menu button
- Choose “Add to homescreen”
- Choose a custom name if opted
- That’s it – you’ll then be able to add it to the home screen.
** In older versions of Chrome, you first had to bookmark a website or web page in order to place it on your Android home screen.
3. Join my Facebook Community
Facebook limits what you can see on my Facebook page, unless you go directly to it.
However, when you join my Facebook community, you can opt to get notifications about new deals as they’re posted.
The Best part? Other members will be sharing deals as well, so you can be all the hHot deals will also be in there (gotta love community)!
We can all save together!
4. Make Your Shopping List
Make a list including who you’re shopping for, what you’re planning on buying for them, what the cost of that item is now and the best price you’ve seen so far on that item. You’ll even want to note the date that that item is going to be that price and where so you can mark it on your calendar.
This way you know what your goal price is and save yourself the last minute rushing!
Use my FREE Christmas Budget List HERE
5. Preview the Ads and Know What You’re Buying
Black Friday in store shopping can be a vicious money draining pit if you don’t have a plan.
I mean, why wouldn’t your kids need eight pair of $2 pajamas?!
Well, the truth is that they probably don’t.
So, don’t get caught in the “hype” of all of the great prices and spend more on things you didn’t actually need.
Using my Free Christmas Budget List HERE will help you know what you actually need vs. spending your hard earned money on things you simply didn’t want (or need).
6. Know Your Dates
We all disliked remembering dates during history class, but now it’s essential (as dreadful as that may sound).
In the six years that I’ve been doing Black Friday (professionally) I’ve come to learn that Black Friday is not always the best bet if your goal is to save money – so keep an eye out on the following (screenshot this and be mindful of it – you’ll thank yourself for doing it!)
- Sunday Night before Thanksgiving (sometimes even earlier!) – Kohl’s Black Friday Sales go live
Wednesday Night before Thanksgiving (sometimes even earlier) – Most of the Black Friday Sales go Live Online — See all of the Black Friday ads here as they’re posted
Thanksgiving Morning – Shop Amazon Lightning Deals
Friday Morning After Thanksgiving – Even More Online Sales before Noon
Cyber Monday after Thanksgiving – Crazy Sales all day long!
Mid December – We sometimes see prices drop EVEN MORE!
7. Shop Online
There are some items (stuffed animals are a great example) that you just want to feel and then buy. Brand name toys, sports equipment or things that you already know are what you want are best to buy online.
Consider whether going out shopping, waiting in lines, fighting the crowds and time away from your family is worth a few extra bucks.
Keeping a Christmas Budget List with your ideal prices handy will be helpful — if you see an item go within 10-20% of your goal price online, and if shipping is free give good thought as to whether it’s best to just buy the item(s) online and have them shipped to your front door. 99.9% of the time, especially if it’s within just a few bucks, it might just be worth it.
BONUS PRO TIP
While you are making your list, write down what you think the item will/could cost, and then, what you’re willing to spend. For example, if the bike your daughter wants from Santa is $100, write “$100/$60” next to the bike. That would signify that the bike is regularly $100, but you’re willing to spend $60 on it. If you see it online with free shipping for $65, then, if I were you, I’d snag it!
Bringing it all Together:
Imagine this:
The joyous time of sales rolls in but this time, you’re excited.
You’re no longer trapped.
You can keep up with all the sales, without compromising your day-to-day tasks.
You feel all your planning has paid off as you see all the laughs and smiles your friends and relatives give you once they open the gifts you got them.
Now, is this a distant reality?
No – In fact, you have all the tools and know-how to start saving now!
What are you waiting for?
Follow the steps outlined here, make your list and see all the savings roll in.
It’s a joyous time indeed.
Leave a Reply