Shopping Tips

Make Couponing Worth The Effort

December 24, 2017 By Twila Van Leer

With new shows devoted to couponing coming online all the time, even those who have been doing it for years can learn new tricks.

Finding a strategy that suits your own lifestyle and budget is critical. Here are some of the major do’s and don’ts that should guide your online couponing activity:

Look for a coupon any time you shop online. Before clicking the “buy” button, search for “your store of choice” for coupons and deals. Use a search engine or go to reputable websites that have a record of providing quality coupons.

Don’t go overboard. There is little benefit in spending hours searching for a $3 “bargain.” Know when to quit.

Look for alternatives to shipping costs. Many retailers offer site-to-store options so a quick trip to a local outlet will replace the $5-to-$10 shipping fee.

Don’t buy an item simply because it offers a coupon. Evaluate the big picture and hold off buying until you are sure it is financially sound. Impulse buying is fatal.

Ask for help in finding deals. One of the advantage of couponing online is that you can share the experiences of others. When you have a question, ask. Using the network is more efficient than unspecific hours of browsing and searching.

Be aware of too-good-to-be-true bargains. Almost inevitably, they are. Be realistic about what deals you might find. Be willing to settle for “good enough” if you feel uneasy about a prospective bargain.

Don’t expect that you will be a couponing guru in the first week. Being able to get the best results is largely a matter of experience. It takes skill and some people just naturally get better results than others. On the other hand, don’t be too quick to give up. This is a process that needs practice.

Don’t become obsessed. You can make your life very stressful and develop bad qualities such as stinginess, false expectations and spending money for dubious bargains. If you are not enjoying it enough to be worth the effort, quit.

Strike a balance. It’s all about time-management, resourcefulness and efficiency. For more information, follow Investopedia on Facebook.

Holiday Spending And Stress

December 22, 2017 By Twila Van Leer

If it’s getting to you, coming up with ideas for just-right gifts compounded with worry about what the spending will do to your finances when the holidays are over, read on for eight tips on how to cope.

Set limits on spending. Look on it as an opportunity to get your budget in shape. Let reason reign. It’s a simple fact that you can’t spend more than is available and stay on an even keel. Your gift-buying budget just can’t be allowed to dip into the bills you must routinely pay. If you feel you must have a little more to spend, it has to come from such things as eating out, entertainment, etc. that are expendable.

Make your own “naughty and nice” lists. You aren’t Santa. You don’t have to give to everyone in the world. If you still compelled to spread holiday cheer, bake some cookies, make some fudge or put your talents to work on simple gifts that don’t deplete the budget.

Budget realistically. Consider your place in life at the moment. If you are paying off student (or other) loans, for instance, let that guide your buying choices. Remember that your parents and other older people on your list got where they are through years of working and being careful of spending. Likely, their gift-giving was more modest then.

Coupon. The stores are full of bargains for the holiday shopping frenzy, but don’t overlook the potential for additional savings in online purchases by doing a quick web search for coupon codes for your favorite online outlets. Look through the advertising that arrives in your mailbox during the holidays. Comparison shop for the items you intend to buy.

Give time instead of gifts. Some of your family and friends would value a visit that includes little gifts and lots of hugs. Consider calling cards that will give them the opportunity to chat despite the miles between you.

Develop better spending habits. For every dollar you spend on gifts, try to squeeze out a way to offset that dollar by economizing somewhere else in the budget. If you can keep the budget even, there will be more to save at the end of the season. Or put the difference into a special savings account that will ease your way through the next holiday surge.

Give personalized gifts that are of more value to the recipient than something expensive but not so meaningful. If you have special talents, share them. Bake a cake or pie for a family member who is kitchen “impaired.” Give a friend a kitchen tool and a recipe for something he or she particularly likes. Make a personalized card – anything that speaks of you.

Organize group volunteer efforts. It’s likely your friends are coping with the same holiday challenges you are. Get together and spend a day at a local charity instead of giving gifts. You’ll spend quality time together and get an infusion of the spirit of the holiday. Take photos of the volunteer project and share them after the fact.

Bottom line: Don’t let debt rob you of the joy of sharing. A year-long headache as you struggle to repay is not worth it. If you can come out of the spending season with your finances intact, it will be the greatest gift you can give yourself.

Beauty Products Great Christmas Gifts

November 18, 2017 By Twila Van Leer

Beauty Products Christmas Gifts — Beauty products have been at the top of the gift lists for many women each Christmas

Traditionally, beauty products have been at the top of the gift lists for many women each Christmas and the merchants who deal in such items are doing what they can to make the gift-buying easier. Some stores, including Walmart and Target, are rearranging their displays and adding less expensive niche brands to their selections.

Korean-produced beauty products are being featured in some discount and drug chains. Glow Studio, created by the online Korean retailer Glow Recipe, is one of them. Ulta, whose whole product line is beauty goods, has gone to pains to offer products in a wide range of prices and features brow bars at some locations. Online merchants such as Colourpop and Glambot, feature high-end brands at lower prices.

With all that availability, there are some suggestions you might want to take shopping for beauty products. Here are five, compiled by BeautyStat.com.

First, know what you have to spend and decide how far you can make it go. If you choose to make a $100 expenditure for a high-end face cream, consider how it will be replaced in the future. Some stores, including Walgreen’s, share weekly circulars that include coupons that can cut the outlay. Aim for Black Friday for even better deals. J.C. Penney, which features Sephora displays in its 600 stores, doesn’t wait for the holidays. It has its products half off every Thursday.

Shop online. Use your phone to compare prices while you shop and read reviews on beauty products ahead of time. Check out eBay and Overstock.com. Glambot will trade your new but unloved products for cash.

Follow the bloggers, who keep current on product trends. They often can provide information on drug store deals on beauty products.

Take advantage of merchants’ offers to test the products before buying. Some have concierge services that allow customers to get first-hand information about such things as color-matching. Target has such services in 75 of its outlets. There also are subscription sites such as Birchbox that allows you to test five samples tailored to y our skin, hair and style. Subscriptions range from $10 a month to $100 for a year.

Sign up for loyalty programs. Sephora and Ulta have reward programs that offer points on purchases. If you spend $400 in a year, you qualify for Ulta Platinum, which gives you 1.25 points for each dollar you spend. The points can be used in conjunction with couples and other discount offers. Be aware that at Sephora, your loyalty points expire if you haven’t purchased for 18 months or more.

With such smart shopping, you can look forward to putting your best face on the holidays and sharing the same with those on your gift list.

Black Friday: What Happened This Year?

March 11, 2016 By Twila Van Leer

Well, the annual bacchanalia of holiday bargains has come and gone. Whether it was the standard grab-for-the-goodies frenzy or a ho-hum just another day depended to a large degree on where in the country you are located.

As predicted, some of the oomph of the post-Thanksgiving spree has eased, with fewer shoppers willing to brave the early hours and crowds, reports from around the country indicate. In some locales, demonstrators piggy-backed on the opportunity to attract a crowd. And some people opted to stay home and peruse the ads in newspapers or online before making spending decisions.

Bottom line, according to an Associated Press rundown, crowds this year seemed to be smaller than in the past. But there were variations on the theme in some places.

Colorado

In Colorado, which legalized marijuana recently, discounted weed and specially wrapped holiday combinations were on sale for the Black Friday crowd. In traditionally snowy Denver weather, some crowds lined up and braved the cold to get in on the weed deals.

Chicago

Some Chicagoans linked arms and tried to block traffic into stores in protest of the shooting of a teenager in their city. In some of the stores, employees safely ushered shoppers out of side doors to prevent possible clashes with the protestors. Some of the shoppers took it all in stride and used their smartphones to photograph the event.

Kansas City

Some shoppers who have reveled in the competition and excitement of Black Fridays past were actually disappointed to find themselves in stores without crowds. One woman in Kansas City listlessly shuffled through racks of clothing and wondered where the fun went.

Arizona

In sunny Arizona, people told news reporters they preferred hiking in the saguaro-studded hills rubbing elbows with crowds of shoppers. For some like-minded non-shoppers, it was an opportunity to impress upon children the true meaning of the holidays, one Tucson mother was reported as saying.

Online

As technology takes over more and more of the country’s shopping functions, the experts reported that – as predicted- more retail shoppers used their phones than their desktop computers to order goods. The option of sitting at home quietly digesting the Thanksgiving turkey while ordering online rather than facing the mobs in stores, seemed to make even more inroads into the Black Friday events.

Big Retailers

Even with the slight slackening of Black Friday traffic, some of the nation’s biggest retailers reported brisk sales. WalMart reps reported that its stores dotting the country saw increased sales this year, both in the stores and online, over last year. Ditto Target, which racked up a record in online sales, particularly electronics. Business in Target’s stores also was satisfactory, spokesmen said. Penneys put considerable effort pre-season into making its apps more user-friendly and said the results were good. It was apparent that many shoppers were researching online then going to the stores for purchases, a spokesperson said.

Black Friday may be losing a little of its luster, but don’t count it out yet as a holiday event of great magnitude.

Black Friday, Cyber Monday – And the Rest

November 28, 2014 By Sherry Tingley

Wal-Mart said Thursday, Nov. 28, 2014 was its second-highest online sales day ever after last year's Cyber Monday, which is the Monday following Thanksgiving when online retailers promote bargains. — Wal-Mart said Thursday, Nov. 28, 2014 was its second-highest online sales day ever after last year’s Cyber Monday, which is the Monday following Thanksgiving when online retailers promote bargains.

For years, the commonly accepted wisdom for shoppers is that Black Friday is THE day for holiday deals. Not necessarily true.

While that Friday and its electronics copycat Cyber Monday are packed with bargains, experience shows that there are even greater opportunities on both sides of those days. For instance, thousands of shoppers take time out from turkey on Thanksgiving Day to hit the stores, jam-packed tummies notwithstanding. One survey conducted by DealNews showed that the price breaks on Thanksgiving were better than those on the following day. In a month already noted for sales, it stuck out

Not only that, but the stores offered deals on more of the most-wanted items likely to be on holiday shopping lists, the analysts found.

The advice of experts is to begin looking for deals before the turkey is thawed. Like, say, right now. The holiday shopping period long outgrew single days. All of November is dedicated to the best deals of the year.

DealNews found that Cyber Monday sales last year lagged Thanksgiving by 16 percent, but that it offers more top-shelf bargains than stores that don’t deal primarily in e-commerce items. The research organization suggests that those looking for e-commerce deals also begin shopping the ads before the traditional days.

The circulars will soon be flooding homes. Peruse the ads and if you spot a wanted item that fits your budget, don’t wait for a better deal. DealNews editors and other market-watchers post sales critiques as the annual frenzy begins.