It’s been more than 5 years that we’ve lived with the notion of credit crunch in our minds. “Save, be thrifty, be careful, don’t overspend…” – such pieces of advice come from anywhere and everywhere. And we can sense the financial situation all the more pressing during holidays, when we feel like spending a lot more than usual. There is a way to enjoy great Yuletide and still buy all the things you need (pay attention, ‘the thing you need’) as long as you are wise and prudent and plan well ahead. So, how can this be the case in any case?

Time is Money
Indeed, finding ample time for your Christmas shopping over the holiday spell can seem like mission impossible when you try to squeeze all the tasks into your tight schedule. This is how online shopping can help you. Saving your time it saves you money, because it is on the Internet that you can find great deals. At the same time you can stay at home or in the office and earn some more money. As most entrepreneurs suggest: something is worth the time only if it brings you more that you can earn working for the same period of time.

Luring you at Christmas
Over Christmas stores apply all sorts of measures to draw customers and save their own turnovers. In fact, Christmas is just the right time for shops to change their balance at the end of the year. Believe it or not, Christmas shopping sometimes provides for about 40% of their annual revenue. That is why, you can find seemingly huge Christmas discounts. But you better steer clear of them as you are very likely to spend more on things you don’t really need thinking that you’ve saved money for them. Truth is, Christmas discounts can be misleading.

Plan well ahead
Planning well ahead is a great choice for a number of reasons. You can benefit from summer / seasonal sales, you can diversify your budget and last but not least, you save time. When you shop ahead online, you can use saver or free delivery, which usually take longer. So if you purchase gifts early enough, you can afford to wait a little longer. Also, don’t forget that over Christmas post offices and the mail service can be insanely busy so it is not worth taking any risks. So, don’t wait till the very last moment.

Buy 2 get one free
Found something great that you can give to more than one person? Don’t turn a blind eye to offers such as these because they can save you a lot of money. For example, should you need Christmas presents for several men who won’t be present at the same Christmas dinner (a work mate, a long-distance friend, and your dad for that matter), and you find a tempting offer that will suit the purpose, go ahead and use it.

Regifts
Some people would say that regifts are the worst possible idea for a Christmas gift that can occur to you. Truth is that we tend to buy things that we never use, store provigil online
them in a chest of drawers that we never open. Check your long forgotten stuff ? there might be little treasures among them.

Packaging, etc.
Can you figure out how much you spend on packaging every Christmas? Try not to open your gifts like a reckless spoilt child and keep the packaging of gifts you’ve been given earlier to reuse it for your Christmas presents. This might sound a little cheap. Should any of your friends recognize their packaging coming back to them, don’t hesitate and tell them you’re trying to be a little more environmental friendly.