Make Your Holiday Shopping Stress Free

November 2003

It’s that time of year when you’re frantically rushing from Milwaukee’s Grand Avenue Mall to the Mall of America in search of holiday gifts for family and friends.

According to financial experts, Americans are expected to charge $127 billion during this holiday season. With retailers anxious to increase sales, you’re finding yourself bombarded with advertisements for holiday sales.

Your Wisconsin community banker offers suggestions to ensure you spend wisely and that the joy of the holiday in December doesn’t turn into a nightmare of credit card debt in January.

Make a holiday budget with the total amount of money that you can afford to spend on gifts, decorations and entertaining. As you make your purchases, deduct that amount from the total balance.

If your current financial situation is less than rosy, scale back on the number of people you buy gifts for or the amount you spend on each person.

Make a list in January of everyone for whom you need to buy Christmas gifts. Then look for bargains throughout the year and you just might find the perfect gift for Aunt Sue in July. Wisconsin towns offer many arts and craft fairs in spring, summer, and fall, where you can find unique gifts at reasonable prices.

If you have a large family, you may want to limit the dollar amount you spend on each person or draw names so that you don’t have to buy gifts for everyone in the family.

As you look at each name on your list, determine the amount of money you can spend on each one. Then take that amount of money with you when you go shopping and leave the credit cards at home.

If you don’t like carrying cash and prefer shopping with a credit card, pre-determine the amount you can charge on your credit card and stick to it. It is easier to dispute charges for unsatisfactory goods or services with a credit card rather than by cash, check or debit card.

Keep your receipts for exchanges and for help in reconciling your credit card statements.

Shop around to make sure the item you’re looking for isn’t less expensive from a different merchant. And remember, an item priced $5 less online or at the big-city mall isn’t really less expensive than the same item from your local Wisconsin merchant — if you have to pay $15 in shipping or $10 in gas to drive to the mall.

If you order gifts from a Swiss Colony, Lands’ End, or other catalog or online business, make sure to order early to avoid paying extra for quick-shipping services. If you are unfamiliar with the company, you may want to check with the Better Business Bureau to make sure it’s reputable.

Most of all, slow down and enjoy the season. After all, it’s people, not gifts, that make the holidays special.
 

 
Provided as a public service by the Community Bankers of Wisconsin (CBW)