After reviewing our holiday spending we actually came out almost exactly on target. That’s not to say we spent exactly as we’d planned. We overspent on gifts for some and underspent on others. It definitely helped to have a plan because we would have grossly overspent without one. This year our plan was a little more casual than other years. My wife and I did a quick and dirty plan one evening, but we’ve had enough experience creating these plans that we were able to implement effectively with only one short meeting.

In December I posted about strategies to reduce spending during the holidays. One strategy we relied upon this Christmas was that of buying items on the fly if we found a good deal, but then returning the items that were over our budget or that just weren’t as compelling as gifts. A couple of days before Christmas, we laid out all the gifts on the kitchen table (after our sons were asleep) and sorted through them decided which were really worth it and which could be returned.

This process was so useful and actually had an unexpected benefit this year. As we looked at the gifts all together, it gave us a great overall sense of “too much stuff.” We realized that we simply had too much stuff for our son. We’ve experienced over and over at Christmas the point of diminishing returns where each additional gift just doesn’t add that much. A 5 year old can only really enjoy a small handful of gifts. More than that and you start entering that spoiled mode where the child is like “is that all there is?” “Aren’t there any more gifts?”

By looking at all the gifts at once we could very clearly see how many gifts constituted “too much” and how many were just right.

So what was the result on Christmas morning?

I’m happy to report that this Christmas was probably the most rewarding in terms of enjoyment-per-gift for our son. Not only did our activity of looking at all the gifts at once lower our Christmas bill, it also resulted in a happier and better-balanced child. There was virtually no spoiled response and our son had just enough a variety of gifts that he was thrilled.

So how is your holiday hangover? Did you have one or were you able to remain sober?

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Budgets put such a damper on holiday spending. It’s much more enjoyable to not be constrained by a well-thought-out plan.

2. Don’t budget any money for giving gifts to anyone but immediate family

Sure you’ll end up buying gifts for the office party, all your friends, and neighbors, but it’s too hard to think of all those people ahead of time.

3. Don’t worry about debt

You still haven’t paid off last year’s Christmas so what’s the point in letting that ruin this year’s Christmas. You’ll still be in debt either way right?

4. Don’t even think about re-gifting

Re-gifting is embarrassing. It’s much better to store the many un-needed gifts from friends and neighbors in the closet.

5. Put off your shopping until the last minute

By waiting until the last minute you won’t be able to worry about how much you’re spending and don’t have to fuss with finding sales because there’s just not enough time to do so.

6. Make sure your kids have enough gifts

The last thing you would want is to short-change your kids by giving them only a few thoughtful gifts. Quantity is king at Christmas.

7. Buy a lot of those “gift”-type items

People love those “gift” items found at department stores. Who doesn’t like a few good knick knacks?

8. Don’t worry about price. You need to get it while you can.

You can’t afford to wait when you find an item you want. It might be gone forever if you wait.

9. Don’t coordinate with your spouse about gift giving.

It’s way too much of a hassle to coordinate with your spouse. Plus you don’t want to put a damper on each others’ gift giving.

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ShopLocal.com solves that problem by putting the Sunday circulars online. You can browse through the actual circulars page by page or search by item. Once you search for an item you can refine your search by brand, price, or even store.

I use ShopLocal very frequently for items that I don’t want to pay shipping on or that I want right away. I will also buy locally vs online when I want the option of returning the item to the store if I have problems or aren’t satisfied. I find that I can often find prices at local retailers as low as I can online.

Check out this brief screencast showing you how ShopLocal works.

Technorati Tags: shopping, local, retailers, sales, deals

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As an example, my sister bought a Yamaha piano – the digital kind that will play itself – using these techniques and saved thousands of dollars. She paid $2,500 for a piano that sells used on the market for $8,000. I wrote about her experience in a post about using RSS to buy items on craigslist.

Even if you use RSS all the time, I would encourage you to look at the 2nd and 3rd videos. They might just blow your mind and are only a couple minutes each.

What is RSS?

If you don’t know what RSS is, please view these posts from yesterday:

• What RSS is and how it will make your life so much easier
• How to subscribe to an RSS feed.
• Using RSS in Internet Explorer.
• How to organize your RSS feeds.

How to shop via RSS using preset feeds

In this video you’ll learn about using preset RSS feeds to find great discounts and sales. In this video I refer to a post post I wrote called RSS shopping site guide containing a list of shopping sites with RSS capability as well as links to their preset feeds. In this example I use the sites SpendFish.com and boddit.com.

How to shop for the EXACT items you want using a customized RSS feed

In this video I show you how to create a CUSTOMIZED RSS feed that will instantly show you when the exact item(s) you’re looking for go on sale or are discounted. If you’re looking to buy a specific item at a great price, this is a MUST WATCH video. In this example I use the RSS feed builder from SpendFish.com

How to shop for the EXACT items you want on Craigslist using a customized RSS feed

In this video I show you how to create an RSS feed from a specific search on Craigslist. Looking for a great deal from someone selling an ipod? You’ll get an instant update within seconds when someone posts an ipod for sale in your area.

How to receive instant notifications about discounts on item from your Amazon wishlist

In this video I show you how to create a customized feed using RSStalker to give you instant updates whenever there’s a price change on an item in your Amazon Wishlists.

Additional Resources

Lazy Man and Money also wrote about this topic and has a list of some additional deal sites you can check out.

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A couple years ago I wrote about 10 ways to save money this Christmas. I even added a bonus 11th way to save money. In fact, during the next week (before Black Friday hits) I’m going to be expanding upon tips #3 and #4 with video tutorials on how to supercharge your deal-hunting expertise. I’ll show you how to use the internet to find unbelievable savings. So stay tuned for that.

But I digress. One of the reasons people overspend is because of emotional spending. The sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas can induce people into a spending frenzy. Here are a few ways to avoid emotional spending this holiday season.

1. Order your gifts online

Ordering gifts online is a great way not only to save money and avoid overspending, but it’s also really fast and easy. By avoiding the stores as much as possible, you’ll be able to avoid the marketing stimulation that exists in malls and retail stores that lures you to buy more and more. You can much more objectively create your list and buy ONLY what you intend to buy and no more. Plus, you can typically find items at lower prices on the internet which can create significant savings.

When to order gifts online to make sure you get them by Christmas

I recently came across a page on Deal Hack that has a comprehensive list of online retailers and when you need to order from them to get your gifts delivered in time for Christmas. View the list here.

Sites where you can find great deals

A while back I posted a couple of articles explaining how to find deals and shop using RSS technology. Doing so allows you to be notified when the exact item you want goes on sale. I also posted a list of sites that allow you to use RSS for your shopping. These same sites also happen to be some of my favorites for finding great deals. Some of the links in the list may be outdated. I’ll try to make sure the list is updated.

2. Buy what you want and then return the items that are over your budget

One approach my wife and I have taken when buying gifts during the holidays is to not worry too much about how we’re spending. If we happen to see an impulse item and it’s a great deal, we go ahead and buy it. Then, before we wrap all the gifts we review which ones are inside our budget and which ones we want the most. Then we return the rest.

This has worked particularly well when shopping for our son. It is somewhat liberating be able to take advantage of great deals or impulse shop even if you know you’ll be returning items. It also allows you to shop more efficiently because you don’t have to return to the store later if you decide to purchase an item while running the risk they’ll be sold out.

Once you’re considering all the gifts together and deciding which to return, the choice is much easier because you’re making comparisons rather than looking at each gift individually. For example, I might really think my son will love the card game when I see it in the store, but comparing against the transformer that he’s dying to have, the choice of which to return is much easier.

I will admit that this requires some work to return the gifts. I recommend trying to return them before Christmas is over because the post-Christmas lines can be a nightmare for a week or more after Christmas.

3. Get your shopping done before Black Friday

I recommended in my last post to get your shopping done before Black Friday. The pre-Thanksgiving shopping environment is a little less emotionally charged. The holiday promotions aren’t quite into full swing and the crowds are lighter. It’s easier to buy what you intend and it’s a more pleasant, less hectic experience. One Thanksgiving is over hold on to your seat and prepare for a crazy ride.

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The fact is, it’s somewhat of a blessing to have an aversion to holiday shopping like my wife. You save money. The holiday spirit for me is a recipe to spend money. You get caught up in the moment and lose track of reality a little bit…sometimes a lot. It’s just so easy to buy one more thing; easy to lose track of what has been spent on whom; easy to forget about your budget with an attitude of “it’s ok, it’s Christmas after all” or “it’s such a great deal how can I pass it up?”

So what am I suggesting, that you DON’T SHOP during the holidays? That’s blasphemy! Well, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting. Instead of doing your shopping after Thanksgiving, get your holiday shopping done BEFORE the holidays.

Now, I realize this advice may come a little too late. For many, the holidays being after Halloween. Certainly retailers want to extend the holiday shopping season so it starts a soon as possible. The sooner you enter that alternate reality the better from their perspective. However, while the holiday shopping season has kind of already begun, it doesn’t go into full swing until Black Friday. There’s time left! One week left!

Why is shopping before the holidays effective?

If you’re serious about spending within your holiday budget this year GET YOUR SHOPPING DONE NOW! By doing your shopping before Black Friday you’ll be able to keep a rational frame of mind. Here are some ways getting your shopping done early will save you money:

You avoid emotional buying

How many of you make a clear list of what to buy your loved ones within your budget and then go out and buy those things and only those things? This rarely happens because, despite good intentions, you inevitably come across an item that just cries out to you “so-and-so would love this” or “that’s such a great deal I’ll buy it for so-and-so.” This emotional buying will happen much less before the holidays hit full swing. I don’t know what it is, but when my wife and I have done much of our shopping before the holidays it just feels so much more stable. We buy what we intend to buy and nothing more.

You avoid the notion of the ultimate deal

The idea of the ultimate deal is really an illusion. People justify spending over their budget just because they are getting a great deal. Sure, there are some incredible deals during the holidays and if you’ve been waiting to buy a certain gadget or gift and have the budget for it, go ahead and take advantage of these deals. However, be careful to differentiate between those items that you really want and those items that you think you want because it’s such a great deal.

You avoid purchases due to competition or scarcity

Retailers love to create a sense of scarcity. Take the Wii for example. It seems like the Wii was hard to find in stores for 2 years. You can’t tell me that Nintendo couldn’t ramp up production to meet demand. Nintendo instead purposefully released only a certain amount of Wiis at a time so that there was scarcity. This was an effective ploy because people would snatch up Wiis without even thinking.

Retail promotions work the same way creating a sense of urgency. There’s a sense that you NEED to purchase right now. If you don’t, someone else might and you’ll lose your chance.

Getting your shopping done early largely removes this sense of competition and scarcity. You can more easily make rational decisions based on what gifts people truly want in spite of sales and promotions.

But what if I feel like shopping is a part of my holiday tradtion?

For many people shopping probably DOES feel like a holiday tradition. How can the holidays be the same without that last minute shopping on Christmas Eve? One way to solve this problem is to create new traditions. Instead of going on a last-minute splurge, try taking the family ice skating. Go to a holiday movie. See what local musical performances are happening.

If you still feel you can’t stay away from the stores, go ahead and go with a friend or family member but leave your wallet or purse at home. For some people you can get 95% of the excitement and holiday spirit just by being in the festive shopping atmosphere. You can vicariously experience the fun of shopping when your friend makes a purchase. A large part of the fun of holiday shopping is simply social anyway. It’s about being with friends and family, having a bite to eat or a cup of hot chocolate for a break. You can experience these without spending money on more “stuff.”

Why I avoid Black Friday like the plague

I few years back I wrote about my experience participating in the Black Friday hoopla. To make a long story short I spent a miserable morning at around 3:15AM standing in the freezing cold in a line that wrapped all the way around Best Buy only to find that the item I wanted was gone by the time I got in the store.

Black Friday is just not worth it. Most of the really incredible deals are there to obviously get people into the store. What they don’t mention in the ads is that they will often have a very small supply of the super-deal items in stock so they sell out almost instantly. Do yourself a favor and sleep in.

You have one week left before the craziness begins

If you’re able to get your shopping done in the next week, do it! If not, I wish you the best and hope you fare well during the holiday craziness. It’s the rare person who can survive the emotional thrill-ride that is holiday shopping. Hopefully you’re like my wife and it gives you a headache. If not, we’ll see you on the other side.

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How does the shipping part work? Once someone requests one of your books you have two options. The first option is to go to the post office and send the book. Once the person receives the book, they login to the site and mark it as received and you get your credit. The second option is to use PaperBackSwap’s built in system to pay for the postage and print out the needed labels at home. Using this system allows you to avoid a trip to the post office since you can just drop the book in your mailbox. Using this system also gives you your credit immediately so you don’t have to wait for the person receiving the book to mark it as received to get your credit. There’s a small additional fee to use this service, but it’s typically less than a dollar and probably cheaper than paying for the gas to go to the post office.

So far I’ve sent three books and have yet to request any. The selection of books posted looks decent, but not overly comprehensive. I found a few books I was interested in. If a book you want isn’t listed as available, you can reserve a copy and once someone has one available, you’ll be notified. The jury is still out for me on this site. I’ve spent an average of about $3.00 per book for each book I’ve sent. That’s less that half the price of buying a book new so if I end up getting some books I want through the service, I’ll consider it a success. If nothing else, it’s good to get rid of some books I no longer needs and reduce my clutter.

PaperBackSwap also has two sister sites; one for trading CDs and one for trading DVDs. I haven’t looked at them closely yet, but assume they work on the same system. If you want to refresh your collections, take a look.

Have any readers used these services? Let us know how you liked them in the comments.

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1. Motion Activated Wall switch. I’m a big fan of motion activated sensors. I use them anyplace that we use light in short bursts and then forget to turn them off; in our garage; in our pantry; in our walk-in closet. I’ve been tempted to put them in the bathroom but it’s harder to gauge how long to set the shut-off timer. I’m so used to walking into these places and just having the lights turn on automatically that when I go to someone else’s house I think there’s something wrong when the light doesn’t turn on. You can set the lights to go on anywhere from a few seconds to several hours, depending on the switch. I don’t necessarily have a favorite brand. As far as I know, they all perform about the same. If anyone’s had a particularly good or bad experience with a brand or model, please leave your thoughts in the comments.

• Cooper Wiring Devices motion sensor wall switch – This is the one I use.
• Here are some other brands of motion sensor wall switches.
• There is also a version made by First Alert you can plug directly into a light bulb socket that would be great for a garage or basement.

2. Motion Activated Electrical Outlet. I’ve never used one of these but, as you know, I’m a big fan of motion sensors. I would use this for lamps, fans, heaters, radios, or even power strips connected to electronics.

• SensorPlug Motion Sensor Outlet by Andev

3. Motion-activated flood lights. Yes, another motion-activated product. We use these around the outside of our house; one on each side and two sets in the back. Not only are they great for conserving energy, they are also incredibly effective for burglary prevention. You couldn’t break into our house on any side without being in the spotlight.

• Here are several versions of outdoor motion sensor lights and floodlights.

4. Kill A Watt energy tracker. This device shows you how much energy other electronic devices use in kilowatt-hours. It can also monitor voltage, line frequency and power factors. I’m a little nervous getting one of these because I would spend too much time testing all our appliances. But that’s a good thing, right? By finding energy-guzzling appliances you can be more aware to use them conservatively or turn them off when not in use. A couple of common energy leaks are leaving electronics plugged in even when they’re not in use and leaving your computer turned on at night.

• Here is the “Kill A Watt” brand monitor.
• Here are monitors from several brands.

5. Renu-it battery charger. I go through a lot of batteries. My three-year-old boy loves trucks that make noises and take 4 C batteries. Add to that my extensive use of portable electronics and I go through batteries like crazy – AAs, AAAs, and Cs, you name it. I’ve used rechargeable batteries before but the cost of them is high and they wear out over time. The other problem is that batteries tend to disappear around my house and I don’t want expensive rechargeable batteries walking off.

Enter the Renu-it battery charger. It charges regular alkaline, titanium, and rechargeable batteries safely. It has built-in mechanisms to prevent overcharging, overheating, and short-circuits. I’ve never used this product but I love the idea. This is definitely on my shopping list.

• Sylvania Renu-it battery recharger.

6. Valve cap pressure indicators. Not all the products on this list are for electronic devices. These clever units replace the existing valve caps on your car tires and constantly show the tire’s pressure making it easy to know when to add a little air. According to the EPA, you can improve your car’s gas mileage by more than 3 percent simply by keeping its tires inflated to the proper pressure. In addition, keeping tires inflated properly can extend the life of your tires so you’re saving money in more than one way. Keeping your tires properly inflated is also safer since under-inflated tires are less responsive, particularly in the rain and snow. One word of warning: a few Amazon reviews indicated that some defective valve caps may cause the tires to leak slowly.

• Analog Tire Pressure Valve Caps.
• Electronic tire pressure valve caps that blink when your tires are low.

7. MagLite LED bulb-replacement kits. It’s now common knowledge that LED lights use a small portion of the energy of regular incandescent lights and last way longer. LED lights are increasingly common in flashlights, electronics, and are even available as replacements for household light bulbs. These clever kits allow you to replace the bulb in a Maglite flashlight with an LED or luxeon light bulb. Most people I know have a number of old Maglites lying around. Now they can be updated and brought into the 21st century at about half the price of a new Maglite.

• Conversion kit for AA Mini Maglites.
• Conversion kit for C and D cell Maglites.
• Conversion kit for 3C and 3D Maglites

8. Energy-saving light bulbs (LED or florescent). According to one Fast Company article compact fluorescent light bulbs emit the same light as classic incandescents but use 75% or 80% less electricity. Florescent bulbs are now commonly sold at major retailers. Another benefit is that the bulbs are supposed to last much longer, even for several years. Over the lifetime of the bulb you will easily save more money than you paid for the bulb.

We use florescent bulbs in several places in our house. I must admit I don’t like the light they produce as much as incandescent bulbs, but the right color lamp shade can remedy that for the most part. Less common (and much more expensive) are LED household light bulbs. There are currently LED bulbs available on the market but they are still too high priced for most consumers. I’m anxious to see what kind of light LED bulbs produce in a household light.

• Here are a variety of fluorescent blubs including regular sized bulbs and floodlights.
• Here are a couple of LED lights including a small version and a floodlight version. They didn’t get very good reviews and are quite expensive. It looks like LED technology isn’t quite ready to invade household lighting.
• This is an excellent Fast Company article outlining the benefits of CFL bulbs and how Wal-Mart has led a campaign to get consumers to start converting to CFLs. Well worth a read.

Do you know of any other energy-saving or money-saving products? Leave them in the comments below!

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The piano she had in mind retails for about $10,000 and she had seen used, older models for as low as $6,000. She was hoping to find one at an even lower price of $5,000.

She had been spending 2-4 hours a week searching extensively from October to March and had found nothing. She was willing to travel within a 12 hours radius to pick up the piano if she found a good deal so she was even actively searching classified ads and on Craigslist in other major cities – but still no success.

Once she read my article, she had her husband set up an RSS search feed on CraigsList.com for the piano. Literally within 2 days she found an available piano about 12 hours away for the ridiculously low price of $2,500. It seemed to good to be true but they drove there anyway. It turned out to be a piano in excellent condition that had only been played once! They literally walked away with an $8,000 piano (that’s the going used price) for $3,500.

Shopping using RSS feeds really is a revelation. I’m surprised I haven’t seen the topic catching on more. I’m surprised by how much the general population doesn’t know about RSS feeds yet. Particularly when they can make such a huge difference in productivity. If you haven’t been introduced to RSS feeds yet, particularly for use in shopping online, check out the two posts below.

Shopping using RSS feeds
RSS shopping website guide

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