When you have a long list of Christmas gifts to buy, it can really pay off to spend time looking for deals on those gifts. Every deal you find is more money you get to keep in your pocket or spend on someone else. However, finding the deals and knowing when to buy can take some of your time and attention. Start preparing now so you are ready to shop when the deals start rolling in.
From Black Friday to Cyber Monday
It used to be that Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, was the biggest shopping day of the Christmas season. Stores offered huge sales to bring customers in the door and, for many stores, bring their calendar year sales from the red into the black. Online merchants have focused their attention in recent years on Cyber Monday, offering great deals on the Monday after Thanksgiving.
In the last couple of years, though, stores have expanded their sale window to extend through much of the week surrounding Thanksgiving. Deals start popping up the day before Thanksgiving, on Thanksgiving afternoon and evening, and during the weekend between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Therefore, you'll need to be on alert for the whole week to really get the best deals on your Christmas purchases.
Strategies for Maximizing Your Savings
Through all of the Christmas shopping frenzy, maintain a big-picture perspective on your spending. Yes, you might be able to get a great deal on an item, but if that item still costs far more than you were planning to spend on a gift for that recipient, you may be better off skipping the purchase. Sometimes a thoughtful or homemade gift is just as good, and far less expensive.