DO Make a list of everyone you are buying gifts for, and a couple of ideas for each person, and take it with you when you go shopping. Stick with your list.
DO Pay cash. You will be more careful about what you spend, and what you buy. Even writing a check doesn’t have as much of an awareness factor as handing over green does.
DO Use those %-off coupons they send out in the sales ads. 30% off goes a long way, especially for bigger ticket items you are planning to buy.
DON’T get sucked into the %-off your sale “right now” if you sign up for their store credit card. It’s not worth a hit on your credit. If you try to get a loan later, the bank will see “Potential Debt” even with a zero balance.
DON’T buy more gifts than you actually need to. We buy for immediate family and our parents. Everyone else gets a card, family picture, or a plate of cookies or fudge.
DO make sure you have a few extra Christmas cards, just in case. You may get cards from “new” friends who haven’t been added to your card list yet. Take advantage of the chance to bless someone else with a kind word when they aren’t expecting it.
DO bring change with you when you go to the store, for the Salvation Army bellringers. Bless someone less fortunate.
DON’T buy anything from a mall kiosk that you hadn’t already researched and planned to buy in the first place. It will break. You will be out of luck.
DO bring a plate of goodies to an elderly person/couple, and listen to their stories for a while. You will make their day, and they just might make yours as well. (This is spending your time, rather than your money. Time is more important.)
DON’T buy your kids everything on their list. Better yet, don’t let your kids MAKE a list. Did you get everything you wanted as a child? (Insert obvious negative answer here.) There is a good reason for that. 🙂
