It’s the most wonderful time of the year! I love the holidays as much as anyone but my wallet doesn’t always agree. Gifts are a wonderful way to show our loved ones we care but can also lead us to stress out about finances. Holiday shopping is more fun when I know I’m getting the best deals! Without further ado, here are some budget-friendly ways to shop for the holidays without braving the Black Friday crowds.
Target Cartwheel/Red Card
Who doesn’t love Target? Target is a great store for holiday shopping because it has such a large range of products. My kids have already gone through the Target holiday catalog about ten times! When I started buying some of my groceries at Target a few years back, I decided to get a Red Card and it has saved me 5% back on every purchase. Then I found the Cartwheel app, which is now part of the Target app. All you have to do is scan an item with your phone and the app will save any discounts for that item to a barcode that gets scanned at checkout. My kids love helping me scan items. Win-win!!
Amazon Prime
Oh Amazon Prime, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Amazon Prime offers a 30 day free trial and costs $99 per year. For those of us who shop from home, this actually ends up being a great deal if you purchase from Amazon frequently. This is a wonderful way to save on shipping when sending holiday gifts to friends and family who live out of town. I also love to create amazon wish lists for my kids and share them with their grandparents for holiday gift ideas. I may even share my own list with my husband sometimes! Lol!
Free Shipping Day
I recently learned about free shipping day and I love the idea. If you don’t have Amazon Prime or want to buy items that are not sold on Amazon, this is a great option! Free shipping day falls on December, 14th this year. Visit the Free Shipping Day website to find out stores that are participating (like Crate & Barrel and Macy’s). You can also find year-round coupons from participating stores!
Cyber Monday
Cyber Monday is a great alternative to Black Friday! We all know that many stores participate in Cyber Monday because we get tons of emails reminding us the weekend before! If you want more information on retailers that participate in Cyber Monday, check out CyberMonday.com to find thousands of offers from retailers during the holiday season. This site also highlights deals all throughout the year!
Groupon
I love Groupon for giving the gift of experiences. As my girls get older, I find that experiences are often more meaningful than toys. While I love watching them play happily with their new holiday gifts, those same gifts often end up on the shelf or in a box a few weeks later. Groupon has many great holiday deals on travel, local activities and more! Also great for the mama friend in your life who desperately needs a spa day!
And last but definitely not least…Rakuten
There is a way to not only save money on holiday shopping, but to MAKE money?? Could it be true? Yes, it is!! Pretty awesome, right? I honestly thought Rakuten sounded too good to be true when my Aunt told me about it a few year ago. Well, I’m happy to share that it’s not! All you have to do is sign up and install the Ebates button on your web browser and it pulls up savings and cash back offers when you visit participating websites. If you click on the “Activate” button it saves your discount/rebate to the website and pays you every quarter through check or Paypal. You can also get in-store cash back for participating retailers! This is great for year-round shopping and awesome for the holidays!
