6 Ways To Save Money Holiday Shopping

If you don’t have the heart to hoard all of your money, the question becomes, how can one give without going broke in the process? Here are a few very practical and easy tips and tools to help you keep your heart and your wallet in check.

Oh no, It’s the big bad B-word! Seriously. Budgeting isn’t a bad thing. Think about it, every fortune 500 company has a budget. Even the wealthy have a plan for their money. Budgeting just means you are telling every dollar what to do before you spend it. It doesn’t matter if the budget for holiday shopping is big or small. It’s about making sure you keep your life in order so family and friends can enjoy their gifts without worrying about you. Knowing the holidays won’t threaten your livelihood is a beautiful thing. It keeps you in the moment, enjoying the holiday season, instead of fretting about it.

I use this site every single time I shop online. Ebates has hundreds of retailers all offering a percentage of what you paid back. They also have preloaded coupon codes the use during checkout, and a way to link your credit cards for purchases you make in the store. Ebates pays every three months either by check or through PayPal. You need at least $5.00 earned to get paid, but every dollar adds up. There are easy to click links and plugins that lead you straight to the retailers site to shop. There’s even a referral for friends. If you sign up with my link, I’ll get $25 and you’ll get $10. Then you can pass your link to your friends and make even more money. Thats it! I’ve used it for three years and I love it.

Go to a site you love and sign up to have an account and get promotional emails. Load up your cart with everything you plan to buy, then abandon your cart. Within 24 hours most retailers will send you a promo code or coupon for a percentage off just to get you to complete the sale. You’ll also get a coupon just for signing up. Use both codes on two separate purchases. You’re welcome.

Most major retailers have apps with reward programs and coupons automatically loaded in.  One of my favorite apps is the Ralph’s app. Ralph’s is a chain grocery store in Southern California that has deals every week and even free items on Fridays! I even get points toward gas. There are many more grocery store apps and other retailers in the app store or google play. Forget clipping coupons and go digital.

This one is for the thriftiest of you. Right after a holiday ends, most of the items from that particular holiday go on sale to help retailers clear out inventory. Also, January is when most sales happen. Stores are desperate to sell early in the year because most people immediately stop spending money after the holidays.  To clear inventory and keep people shopping, there are always a bunch of sales. So I’d recommend at least holding off on shopping for yourself until after the season ends.

Your favorite online influencers give out promotional codes and links all of the time. Use them! I know sponsored content is a sticky topic for some, but if you see something reviewed that you like, and you can get a percentage off, take advantage ASAP.  Most promo codes expire and things go out of stock quickly once an influencer talks about it. I personally use influencer promo codes all of the time. For me, it’s a no-brainer. Free valuable information and a discount? Sold.

Here are a few of my favorite retailers that offer discounts to save money holiday shopping.

Missguided: Use code LATOYA CODNER when checking out to get $20 off.

Gilt: (You get $25) Click link & Use Code GIVE25.

Hautelook: Discount on designer goods.