We offered a lot of holiday shopping tips last month. Here are several post-holiday shopping tips to keep in mind:
- January is a great month to shop. Retailers offer discounts to clear out the overstocks remaining from the holiday season.
- Keep looking at retailer ads and online comparison shopping sites to see if prices have come down on any of the holiday gifts you bought/received. Remember, many retailers will price match for up to 30 days AFTER purchases.
- Use your gift cards wisely: (a) According to federal regulations, you have a minimum of a year to use the cards. (b) Be aware of all of your gift card rights. Here is a link to a Consumer Reports’ article on general gift card rules. And here is one on state-by-state gift card rules. (c) Be careful not to get sucked in to buying more than you want and overspending the value of the gift cards. This is quite profitable for retailers.
- Continue to be a smart shopper. Comparison check big ticket items before buying. Keep looking for sales — they will be there throughout the year.
Happy shopping. 🙂
Post-holiday shopping can be the time of the year with one of the “best buys.” Consumers can spend what they received in gift card as well as the credit they will receive with returns. In my opinion, the sales for post-holiday shopping are just as good as holiday shopping similar to days like Black Friday.
I am a big fan of sales, especially right after the holidays. Some classy name brands are just too expensive for a full time student already in debt, so being a smart shopper is very important. I wait until after Christmas to do all my shopping; at first it might seem weird but you’ll end up saving big bucks.