Lifestyle Photography by Coco Prop Shop
Anyone else think this year flew by?! I cannot believe it’s already almost Christmas.
Christmas brings so much joy and so many memories, but can also bring a lot of stress. I personally get super stressed about being in large crowds browsing for gifts and spending way too much money. It’s a catch 22 for me every year, I love to give meaningful gifts but I also hate that we spend so much money this time of year. I also despise credit cards so everything I purchase comes straight from my account, there is no giving myself time to pay things off.
By now I think I have it figured out, here are a few ways I alleviate that feeling of anxiety when spending tons of money of Christmas.
shop online: ok, story time. You may have already noticed this, but most retailers always have sales online and not in the store . There have only been a few times where I was able to get them to honor their online sale while I was shopping in-store. I personally think going to a store takes up way too much time and would rather shop online instead anyway, it saves me time and money. Also, when you combine the sales online and a service that gives you cash back.. it’s just a no brainer. Which leads me to my next topic, using ebates.
use services that give you cash back & coupons: Let me just be honest and say, this is the real reason I am writing this post LOL. I have used ebates for years and almost made $300 back just by shopping online. eBates is a company that gives you back a percentage of what you spend. The percentage always changes depending on what the retailer is offering, but I can never complain. In addition to that, I use Retail Me Not like crazy! Sometimes you can find coupons on there that are not advertised anywhere else and it works about 75% of the time for me.
For example, right now for Black Friday I am shopping at one of my fave Etsy Shops – Skin Food by Ab. Aubrey is giving her customers 25% off and in addition to that I use eBates to get 6% cash back. It makes it so worth it.
Basically, you sign up, install the plug-in to your browser and overtime you’re on a retailer that offers ebates, you activate it and make money. I’m obsessed.
eBates is offering $10 for signing up right now!
avoid credit cards: Like I said earlier, I despise credit cards. If you need to use them to purchase gifts and cannot turn around and pay it right away, it’s not worth it. Save yourself money in the long run because when those interest charges hit, you’ll be paying way more than the fift actually cost.
start early: Some people start super early and purchase gifts every time they get paid. That way they don’t spend a ton of money at once. That’s such a good idea, but I can’t think that far in advance. I also can never keep up with sales…
purchase only items they need: I’m not a fan of little trinkets. I want something I’ll actually get use out of. So, think of it that way while gifting as well. This can prevent over spending or spending on random things they wont actually use. That means, money well spent.
So there you have it. Shop online and start early!
Online shopping + eBates + Retail me Not = money-saving & making machine.
Lifestyle Photography by Coco Prop Shop
