How Do I Coupon ?Save Money While Buying Healthy for You, Your Family, and the Planet!

This is the time of year to buy Christmas presents! What?! Yep, right now stores are marking down their toys that are left over from Christmas. This recession has hit stores hard and I do not think the sales are as good as in years’ past but there are still deals to be had.

If you head to Target, make sure to check out their toy section. Right now they should have their toys marked down in the clearance section anywhere from 75-90% off! That is a HUGE DEAL!! Last year I was able to get most of my Christmas shopping done in January at Target. What a great feeling!

Bath & Body Works will probably have their travel size toiletries on sale as well from $1 up.

Check out Walmart (I saw toys on clearance there although not as good of a deal as Target), Toys R Us, KMart, Family Dollar and Big Lots for deep discounts on left over toys.

I am not going shopping this year ::sigh:: as we do not have the cash to do it right now. I figure what is the point of buying toys at such a deep discount if I am going to pay with a credit card and carry a balance? Kind of defeats the deal, doesn’t it? If you go, it is smart to have a list of who you need to buy for, a price point so you do not go over, and ideas for each person on your list. That way you stay within your budget and do not buy excess. It is a great time of year to go and stock up on Birthday presents as well!

Happy Shopping!

The day after Thanksgiving, as most of you all know, is the biggest shopping day of the year for retailers. There are tons of stores that will be offering great deals on toys, electronics, clothes, and so on. The key to Black Friday is to be prepared.

1. Figure out your budget. How much can you spend? How much do you want to spend per person or family? Set a limit and stick to it. A good tip to avoid more credit card debt is to take out the cash you plan to spend and separate it into different envelopes. When it is gone, it is gone!

2. What do you want or need to get from the sales? Make a list and use it as a guide when you are shopping. It is also good to have substitutions thought out so when an item is no longer available (which it will be) you have a back up plan. Try to make your shopping experience as stress-free as possible.

3. Take a look at all the store flyers and plan. What time do you need to wake up to be in line? Plan to carry just your wallet instead of a purse. It really does help to not carry much as stores often run out of carts and you may end up having to carry your merchandise. Bring a bottle of water or thermos of coffee to keep you going. You will be grateful you did. Shopping is hard work!

4. Compile the ads for the stores you are interested in. A lot of stores will be offering Loss Leaders again.  Fair warning: most of the super great deals will have a very limited supply. For instance, this year Sears is offering a smokn’ deal on a washer a dryer set, but there will only be 4 sets available per store. Keep this in mind when you shop for the great deals and understand the store limits and rules. BTW, Best Buy has a fantastic deal on a washer/dryer set . While the set is a higher price than Sear BF deal, more than likely you will be able to purchase it because there will be more quantities available.

5. Hate the rush and insanity at the stores on Black Friday? Consider shopping online. Amazon and many big box retailers will have fantastic deals online. Consider staying up late on Thanksgiving to take advantage of sales that will be online. What’s a better way to snag some great deals than in your PJ’s and a cup of hot cocoa by the glow of your computer monitor?  ;)

Here is a list of links to stores and Black Friday Websites to help get you started:

Black Friday- The Official 2009 Website

Amazon

Best Buy

CVS

Big Lots

KMart

Kohl’s

Macy’s

Sears

Target

Walgreens

Walmart (You can even get a map of your store to plan out where to go first. Yes, I am serious! And, again, they will match any advertised price during the BF sales.)

If you shop online and want to see if there are any extra discounts available, check out this great website:

RetailMeNot

You can type in what store you would like to find discounts for. If there are codes available you will find them here along with their respective success rates. How great is that?! I have been able to score free shipping and discounts at many stores I shop for online.

As for me, I am probably going to Walgreens as their toys will be 50% off and shop a little at Amazon. I am done shopping except for a few gifts and crowds are not my thang .

Happy Shopping!!