Preparing for the Holiday Shopping Season

There are lots of ways to prepare for the holiday shopping season (which for most starts on Black Friday).  My family has always been all year shoppers for bargains which usually ends with Black Friday.  My husband used to start shopping on Christmas Eve so we have worked out a compromise....  I do the shopping :)  The best thing about shopping all year is that you are always thinking about the people that you care about and you get the best deals for them.

1.  The first tip is to start out the year is to get a notebook that you can write everyone's name in that you give to gifts to.  I like to keep track of birthdays and Christmas but I don't want to put you overboard all in one shot so start with Christmas and when you see how great it is, you can add birthdays next year.  If you have a small notebook, give each person a page.  If you have a full sized notebook, share the page with a few related people.  Don't forget the teachers, hairdressers, mailman and others that you might give gifts to through the holiday season.

2.  Set a budget for each person and add it all up to see if that meets your overall budget.  If not, go back and see where you can cut out a little money to make the budget balanced.  Cut out those extras like the hairdresser and mailman :)  Think small and homemade gifts and start searching for more frugal gifts to share.  There are always tons of ideas on the Internet like a basket with homemade play dough and a few cookie cutters or stamps for kids or Cookie Mix in a jar for busy parents with other fun cookie cutters.  There are always ways to make fun gifts for people that mean just as much, if not more.

3.  As you get gifts through the year, make a note on the page and keep them all in one place (if you don't have one place, make a note of where you put them... my mom is well known for after all the presents are opened- finding more).  Note the gift, retail price, and price paid which looks like the following:

Bath and Body Works Lotion $12 ($4) 
Bath and Body Works Shower Gel $9 ($2)
Bath and Body Works Lip gloss $5 ($0)
Loofah $5 ($1)

This helps to keep track of how much you spend so that you stay within your budget and make sure you don't spend too much any one person so that you end up not getting to others.  This person got $31 worth of gifts which you only spent $7 because you waited for the sales and the coupons.  It might help you balance the budget or get a few more things that you wouldn't normally be able to afford.

4.  Make sure you check off the items as you wrap them to make sure you pull them all out closets, under beds, and other hiding places around the house.  Nice safety measure with having a detailed list so that they aren't next years gifts.

I hope that this helps you organize the holiday shopping and get started saving lots!!!  If you have any other ideas, please post them to share with everyone.  We would all love to learn from others.