Wow! The Federal Trade Commission is climbing on board to help Americans make good choices this year when it comes to shopping. They have an online article with tips for the consumer. Quite interesting! Interesting when it's the government who (some people feel) are the one's at fault for their personal financial problems and debt. How so? Well, look at the commercialism and temptations put forth on a daily basis through every medium possible...television, radio, oversized billboards, magazines, etc. They are all FTC approved. (Actually, I don't know how it really works and everyone needs to blame someone to feel better about themselves!) Now, it seems some of the companies are targeting child audiences for their credit cards and so forth. Is that ludicrous? My kids don't even know how to count change back from $1.00 and they are already watching commercials of Shopping Barbie with her own credit cards. My take on that...teach your kids the cash only lifestyle! If you don't have the money, you can't afford it. If you don't have the money, don't buy it. Don't put the purchase on plastic when you know (or maybe you don't) that it'll take you longer to pay it off than you intended. Am I making sense?
So really, take the FTC's advice but go cash only. Here are the bullet points...
- Shop around
- Read sale ads carefully
- Consider time and travel costs
- Look for price-matching policies
- Go online
- Consider bargain offers
- Clip coupons
- Ask about sale adjustments
- Keep track of spending
- Save receipts
- Ask for gift receipts
- Ask about refund and return policies
- Keep good records
- Ship early
- Keep an eye on your wallet
My personal addition to this list of tips...
- Create a budget of how much you will spend for each person...do you have 15 neices and nephews? If you spend $25 per child, that's already $375! Do the kids really need that toy or gadget? How about making a coupon that says "This coupon is good for one hour of game time with Auntie So & So." That coupon costs you one hour for time spent, and 10 minutes to create the coupon on Word.
- Make your presents...pick up on your long lost hobby of sewing or painting. Create a photo album for your loved ones of all the favorite pics over the 2008 year. Printing pictures can cost as little as 9 cents a print on Snapfish.com. (Well, that was the latest deal I saw. It's always changing.) So, pick up a photo album for $5, print 25 pictures for under $3...and voila! You've got a personal and inexpensive gift for under $10 that will more than likely never be thrown away. Actually, it's a great gift for the kids, too. Write little captions to put in with each picture.
- BAKE! Everyone knows this time of year is the baking time of year. Pick 5 different cookie or bread recipes and divvy them up into some decorative plates. Easy to find at your local Dollar store or 99cent store. You'll have a gift to share with 5-6 friends and their taste buds will love it.
Anyway, my theme this year is to keep it simple. I avoided Black Friday today at all costs. I have plenty of materials in my own house to create gifts. I have more time than money these days, so bring on the creativity! Good luck this season and don't go overboard!
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