Thursday Thrift: Holiday Thrift

Today's Thursday Thrift tips come from Woman's Day November 17, 2009 issue.  The cover promises '127 Ways to Celebrate for Less'.  Here's a few:

Shop for Less - According to WD, the mall is a terrible place to shop for less, unless you really know what you're doing (dunno what that means).  Instead, try:

• your house - again, dunno what they mean here; I think they mean to look around your house and see what you already have that might make an appropriate gift; perhaps a friend has always coveted the fancy old atlas you inherited from your Uncle Magellan...it doesn't impress you, but your friend might treasure it
• online - you're more likely to stick to your budget if you cut out the touchy feely aspect of in-person shopping; you're less likely to give in to physical sales pitches
• craft fairs - handmade and sometimes inexpensive; I like to go to crafty places when I travel and get a reminder of the trip; e.g., I often try to find a pair of earrings during my travels; I wear earrings almost every day and so some earrings remind me of a fun trip whenever I wear them; but WD's point is that you can often find lovely gifts at reasonable prices at crafty places
• thrift stores - especially good for friends that appreciate the frugal and/or the funk that can be found in thrift stores

Plan It Perfect - *snort*  The word 'perfect' has long been written out of my vocabulary.  I scoff in the general direction of perfection.  The article's point is that when you end up running out and grabbing gifts, you end up spending lots more than you would have if you had planned ahead.

• create a schedule...of dedicated times to shop within the two months before the holidays; some shopping trips will be for holiday meal ingredients; some may be for gifts; put these trips on you calendar like appointments
• set your budget now ...their financial expert says to imagine how much money you'd be comfortable with gone from your savings account right after the new year; if you're okay with $1,000 going MIA and it's 10 weeks until Christmas (or whatever you celebrate), put $100 into savings every week so you have $1,000 to pay the bill in January.  I suppose you could just pay cash or use a debit card at the time of purchase.  If I know the money's coming out of my checking account today, I'm more likely to spend less.  Personally, I find any payment deferral tempts me to spend more. 
• allocate your budget...according to what you want to do this holiday season.  If you want to see people, spend your money on having a wonderful dinner to which you invite the people you most want to see.
• make your lists... plan ahead as far in advance as possible, including holiday menus, and make lists for the different kinds of shopping you need to do, e.g., gift, ingredients, etc.

Three Things You Shouldn't Spend a Dime On

1. wrapping paper - reuse incoming wrapping paper; have kids decorate plain white paper or construction paper (of course, that paper comes from somewhere); also, pretty pictures from magazines, old calendars, etc.
2. present mailing - bc you're being so organized and planning so far ahead this year, you'll be able to hand out gifts as you see people during the holiday season; for giftees who live out of town, buy online from sites that offer free shipping and to whom you don't have to pay sales tax
3. cell phone overcharges - catching up with people during the holidays may put you over your minute limit; buy a phone card now if you think this may happen to you

Comments

[Shopping Golightly]

I was interviewed for that article on thrift. I'm the one who found the Givenchy tuxedo for my husband for $9.

Holiday thrift? Tomorrow I'm posting photos of a gorgeous place-setting for entertaining for $3.60 per setting. That includes the silver plate flatware.

I've also built a online Picasa Slide show of over 200 items I've thrifted. Some are brand new, others gently used, some are antique but all are unique. The slide show is in the left column of The Thrifty Chicks blog: http://thethriftychicks.blogspot.com.

Thirft saves thousands without sacrificing quality, lowers the shoppers carbon footprint via reuse, and poetically helps t repurpose peoples lives through the charities thrift supports.

Godspeed to all kind thrifters!