Shopping After the Holidays

Now with the holidays over you may see sales advertised in many stores.  It could be a way to save money, but only if it is something you need and were planning on buying anyways.  If you purchase things on sale and don’t end up using them, you haven’t saved any money.  The same is true with store coupons you may receive.  If you buy items you weren’t planning on purchasing just because you have a coupon to use, you are not really saving money.  

I received a couple of gift cards for Christmas and have been using them combined with sales to replace some things I needed like glasses and pans.  It may not seem very exciting but I did get a gift card for Clothes Mentor also that I requested.  I feel like I can get more for my money and the items are either new or almost new.  No one knows that I didn’t pay full price for the items unless I tell them. 

Following is part of a post I wrote a couple of years ago about shopping during After Holiday sales to save money.

Shopping After Christmas sales you can save money and be ahead of time next year. When I had my first apartment, I didn’t have much for Christmas decorations, but I scoured the after Christmas sales and within a year or two I had a good collection. Now I pick up things I need for a fraction of original price.

It is a great time to stock up on gift bags, gift boxes, wrapping paper, cards, etc. By having things you normally use on hand ahead of time, saves you from having to buy them next year. Also, if you are just starting out or need a new artificial tree, wreaths and other decorations it would be a good time to look for them. Sometimes you can find holiday wrapping paper that not necessarily Christmas themed that could be used for other occasions throughout the year.

Other things to look for are candles, and candies. If you buy the holiday bags of candies like Hershey’s Kisses, Peanut Butter cups, etc you can use for upcoming holidays. The silver and gold ones can be used for New Years, Red and silver for Valentines Day and Green and gold for St. Patrick’s Day.

If your budget can handle it, you may also be able to pick up some gifts for people to use for birthdays, or even for next Christmas.