Thanksgiving and Christmas may have passed but we cannot deny the fact that the shopping fever ain’t over yet for most of us. With year-end sale ads popping on our feeds left and right, no one can deny that it is quite tempting to extend the gift-giving season both for our loved ones and ourselves. 

Beyond buying sale items, did you know that there are other smart ways to save while checking out those last few items in your cart? Spending doesn’t necessarily have to be painful if you save these tips for the years to come because they will definitely be handy for a long time. 

For those of you who are still on a shopping binge, start practicing these hacks for your winter holiday purchases:

  • Make a list, check it twice. Setting a budget for your holiday gifts may be the most important rule of gift-shopping. This way, you can allot specific amounts for each and everyone on your list and avoid overspending. 

With that said, you should also plan your gift list even prior to buying anything. If you have a longer list, look for less expensive yet meaningful gifts. Once you’ve identified the names in your list, you can start searching for gift options and compare prices to make sure you get the best value available. Keeping a running list of what you’ve gotten and what you still need to buy also helps you stick to the amount you have allocated for gifts. 

Hint: you can use a Macys promo code for your Christmas shopping!


  • Start Early. As exciting as holiday shopping is, it is so easy to put it on the back burner. One common mistake is thinking that it’s better to shop closer to the holidays so you don’t miss out on good deals. Planning and buying gifts earlier is actually a more strategic way to go. 

You can start looking for Christmas gifts any time during the year but monthly online sales, Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales are good places to begin. This way, you have a lot more options to choose from and a lot of deals to check out!  If you’re looking to give winter clothes and essentials, they have lower prices during off season, so you might want to buy them ahead as gifts for the holidays.

  • Scan for social media deals. Remember to always check out social media pages of your go-to stores for exclusive deals. Major department stores such as Macy’s, Bloomingdale, IKEA or Target offer monthly sales and promo codes for consumers to get a better bang for their bucks while shopping. 

Online shops announce special discounts regularly so keep an eye out for those, too! The more discounts you get, the more you can stick to your holiday budget and maybe even save a few bucks more for gifts  to yourself!

  • Download cashback and rebate apps. Since you’re already set to spend some cash, might as well make the most of it by getting cashbacks. 

Once you’ve downloaded your chosen cashback app, you can access your favorite stores through that app and shop as you normally would. These cashback sites operate through commissions from partner retailers and in turn, share with you a part of it through cash back. Users usually get between 1% to as much as 20% of the price back which you can use on your next purchases! 

  • Don’t skimp on the rewards cards. How often do we decline paying extra for rewards cards offered by stores or restaurants? By doing so, you miss out on great offers and exclusive deals to rewards card users which can amount to a good sum of savings in the long run. 

If you usually do your shopping from just two to three go-to stores, save some cash by availing their customer rewards card. You may think that  you have to buy  thousands-worth of stuff before getting points, but these points actually become actual cash you can use for your holiday gift shopping later on. 

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