Examiner guide to a budget-friendly holiday: Shopping early and often

November 2, 10:10 PMHattiesburg Budget Meals ExaminerEmily Murphy

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Hattiesburg Budget Meals Examiner

With Halloween out of the way, Thanksgiving and Christmas are nipping at our heels and clamoring for us to spend, spend, spend.  While it's nice to have little extras during the holiday season, the easiest way to achieve that goal is to spread out your purchases over the entire season instead of waiting until the last minute and falling victim to a budget shopper's nightmare: limited time and a crush of other shoppers making it harder to complete your task and to find the good buys. 

My favorite thing to do prior to the holiday season is to keep my favorite traditional recipes in mind when doing my weekly grocery shopping.  For instance, if your family likes to have a certain dessert during the holidays, keep the ingredients required to make it in mind when flipping through the sales papers.  If you notice a great sale on chocolate chips, snag an extra bag or two and put them in the freezer specifically for the holiday season.  It may even be a good idea to write "Thanksgiving" or "Christmas" on them so you remember they were purchased with that in mind. 

Keep this tip in mind especially right now.  With Halloween over, most retailers have already marked down their Halloween candy.  M&M's, Kisses, Reese's cups and other candies your family enjoys can all be used during holiday baking and would last well in the freezer.  Purchasing them on sale could save you significantly, as in up to $2.00 to $2.50 per bag of candy!  Added up, that's a lot, especially if you do a lot of baking. 

The shop early and often concept can also be applied to gifts.  The earlier you start looking for Christmas gifts, the better.  In fact, in January and February you can find great deals on things like gloves, scarves and other winter items that make great Christmas gifts.  These items are on clearance at unbeatable prices, usually and by purchasing them early you are able to spread out that budget and make the most of your money. 

By starting now you will be able to find some great deals and help yourself have a less stressful holiday, which we all deserve.  Trust me: your family will love you for following this advice.

Enjoy!

Need more tips?  Bookmark this site or subscribe and check back with me throughout the holiday season.  I will be providing my favorite tried and true tips to help you save a little money.