Black Belt Shopper
(featured column)

Planning for Bargains All Through the Year
by Larry Wiener

As we near the holiday season, future shopping is the last thing you want to think about. Still, December and January are prime times to plan out your shopping for the year. Planning can make the difference between making good use of the sales coming up on one hand or overspending and passing up bargains on the other. If you can't think about shopping now, either print or bookmark this article for later reading.  Also, check out our bargain shopping calendar at www.betterbugdeting.com/salecalendar.htm.

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Plan for the Post-Christmas Sales

Every shopper out there knows that retailers have sales in January. The depth of the markdowns depends on what sells and what doesn't-a factor we don't know much about early in the season in this transitional economy. How do you decide what to seek and where to go? A little planning at home before hitting the mall can do a lot of good. Here are some suggestions:

Decide What You Are Looking to Buy

That might sound like what my students call a duh, something so obvious I don't need to say it. Still, most merchants hope that you don't have a list because that means that you will be up for buying everything in sight. Sweaters on sale for 80% off. Can't pass that one up. Then you find that your kid has a drawer full of sweaters and doesn't like the one you got anyway. Then you find out the store won't take that one back because the fine print says all sales are final.

Before you go out shopping, take a look through your house and see what needs to be bought or replaced. Are you at the point where you don't have three everyday glasses that match because they all got broken? Put that set of glasses on your list.

Use Your Local Newspaper

Armed with your list-paper or mental-you can then go through the newspapers and pick out where to go. If you live in a large metropolitan area like I do, knowing what stores you want to visit will save you a lot of driving around because you can pick one area that has branches of all the stores you want.

While you're looking through the paper, don't be afraid to look to the more upscale stores. Often those stores will have some of the deepest discounts on high quality merchandise. Many of the higher priced stores depend on quick turnover of merchandise to keep customers coming in and deeply discount slower moving merchandise. If some of that merchandise fits your need, you can get a great bargain.

Plan for Gift Giving Occasions

The Christmas season sports numerous items prepackaged for giving. Why not buy some of the leftovers for future gift giving occasions at a great price? What was supposed to be a big selling toy may have turned out to be a dud, but if your kid likes it and it's marked down, go for it.

My dad is an avid bar-b-quer. A local department store had packages of sauces and other bar-b-que extras marked down after Christmas. His birthday was in March, so that provided me with a couple of items to give him for this birthday, which is right at the beginning of the bar-b-quing season.

Do you have a wedding coming up? Maybe something your couple wants is on sale. If you have February and March birthdays to buy for, the sales may have something you want.

Check Out the Online Auctions

Aunt Franny gives Supertechie a really high quality case for his PDA when he already has three of them. Supertechie may not want to offend Aunt Franny by asking where she got the case, so he puts it on e-bay. Mr. New to PDA's needs a case and is looking for a bargain and finds it on e-bay.

During late December and January thousands of people will be auctioning and otherwise selling gift items they don't want. You may be able to snag some real bargains.

Likewise, many families who bought themselves new furniture and other major items for Christmas will be selling their used items. Some might be bargains and may fit your lifestyle. Check out consignment stores, newspaper ads, and other sources of good used merchandise.

Let Your Fingers Do the Walking

Going shopping during the few days after Christmas is a daunting task. Before you subject yourself to the crowded parking lots, long lines, and all the rest, flip through the newspaper and maybe make a few calls to see where the bargains are on what you want. Check out online stores to see if you can even get some of your bargains through those sources.

This strategy will save wear and tear on both your car and your nerves. You may be able to hit the store that has what you want well before they start running thin on merchandise.

Plan for the Year

Of course you're not going to buy everything for the entire year in January. Still, this is a good time to plan what you are going to be buying for the next year. If you see something in the January sales, great. If not, you know where you're going.

Right now, for example, I'm in the home improvement mode. I'm in the process of buying a lot of new furniture, flooring, and various other home-related items. I've made a priority list.

An entertainment center was near the top of my list. When I saw a gently used Thomasville-one of the highest quality brands-that fit my needs in a consignment store, and at a good price, I knew it was time to buy.

A shopping calendar can help you plan. Certain items tend to go on sale more widely at predictable times of the year. Knowing of those seasonal sales can save you big. We have published a bargain shopping calendar that can be found here: www.betterbugdeting.com/salecalendar.htm

As with all areas of budgeting and finance, planning ahead can help make your shopping more productive and less time-consuming. Take a few moments out of your holiday madness to do a little planning and you will be celebrating your snagged bargains all year.

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Copyright © 2003 by Larry Wiener

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