Saving Without the Stress – My Holiday Shopping Principles

My Holiday Shopping Strategy – Big Discounts and Rewards, Little Stress

We’re here.  Holiday shopping season – it starts earlier every year.  Or, perhaps, it never stops.  Beyond the timeframe, holiday shopping’s definition has expanded, as well.  No longer is the focus simply buying for others – the process now often includes buying for ourselves.  When we also take into account more stores, sites, discount schemes, and other gimmicks, the whole process can become overwhelming.  Many justifiably give up.  I won’t go that far, though.  I enjoy holiday shopping while minimizing stress by following a few practical principles.  Today, I’m sharing these principles, which make up my overall holiday shopping strategy.

#1.  Make A Gift List

First, I make a list of everyone I’m planning to give presents to each year.  I even include myself here, even if they’re just ideas I give to my wife.  I let these “gift goals” drive most all aspects of my holiday shopping.  Like other aspects of the points, miles, and travel hobby, I know that I can’t obtain every deal out there.  And I wouldn’t want to – doing so would lead to unnecessary spending.  Instead, I filter all deals through the gift goals.  Consequently, I’m left with a more manageable pile of deals to focus on.  Rather than being spread too thin, I won’t miss the few deals I focus on.

#2.  Pick One Shopping Portal

I love shopping portals, but they add more wrinkles to the shopping experience, sometimes unnecessarily.  They can skew our purchasing decisions and manipulate our natural habits, especially around the holidays where spending is more prominent.  Instead of using multiple portals, keeping up with tracking, and following up on a pile of errors, I use one reliable portal.  For me, that has been the Amex Membership Rewards-earning version of Rakuten.  I’ve earned solid rewards with their streamlined portal, and my purchases have tracked better with them than anywhere else.

#3.  One Common Question for Selfish Purchases

We’re persistently hammered with deals, discounts, promos, and sales during this time of year.  Regardless of all that, I ask myself one question before deciding on any purchase for myself.  Would I pay full price for this item?  If the answer is yes, I may buy the item.  If the answer is no, I pull the brake and reflect.  Do I really want or need this item, or am I solely drawn to a price?  If the want or need is genuine, can I still unemotionally justify the purchase at the given price?  In most situations, I probably don’t want or need the item, anyway.  The price created a phantom want or need which I didn’t hold originally.

#4.  Avoiding Resellers

I may turn off some of you here, if I haven’t already.  Primarily, I shop at brick and mortar stores or their websites rather than finding a better deal through a reseller.  I happily conduct these lower-risk transactions over those with resellers even if they cost me more from a financial perspective.  Why?  I’m busy enough with holiday shopping; I don’t have time to research resellers’ reliability.  I want to receive items on a timely basis.  Our kids are at the age where items showing up after the holiday would be a huge disappointment.  Again, I may pay more, but I assess this area as a “you get what you pay for” matter.

#5.  Stack Responsibly

Combining different promos, sales, portals, deals, etc into the same transaction, aka stacking, is fun to a certain degree.  Beyond that point, it’s more trouble than I want.  I realize that with every layer of a stack, I’m opening myself up to more work and unintended consequences.  Paralysis by analysis can set in – what if the deal and/or portal percentage will be better next week?  Did I apply all 17 of the promo codes and use the right links?  I prefer to get a solid deal with a few reliable stacking techniques rather than pursuing deeper endeavors.  Going harder isn’t always better here, at least not for me.  I’m willing to forego a few extra bucks so that I can avoid an overwhelming, all-consuming experience.

#6.  Brick and Mortar Stores, But Only with a Plan

I still find value in shopping in-store for certain gifts, but I won’t allow myself to make the trip out before having a plan.  Without a plan, I’m essentially walking down every aisle during a grocery trip while hungry.  I would be more likely to buy stuff I wouldn’t normally otherwise.  Beyond unnecessary purchasing, unplanned in-store shopping and the accompanying traffic just burns so much time.  And time is increasingly more valuable to me than money.  Indeed, we can all make more money, but we can never make more time.

#7.  Stuff Doesn’t Matter, Ultimately

Beyond the other principles of my holiday shopping strategy, I remind myself that all this material stuff doesn’t truly matter.  I refocus on the people I’m purportedly shopping for.  What does a given individual truly value?  That gift I’ve been chasing for weeks may not be what he or she actually wants or needs – it may be something I selfishly want to give him or her.  Instead, I may buy the individual something different, or nothing at all.

For instance, I may choose to connect with the individual in a different fashion.  Perhaps I make the person something or give the individual my time in a unique way.  I travel to see someone, I help an individual with a household project, I assist people with their own points and miles redemptions, the list goes on.  Generosity comes in many more forms than tangible ones.  And often, those alternatives are more meaningful and valuable.  I can always embrace this more.

Conclusion

These are the primary principles I follow in my overall holiday shopping strategy.  So many other methods are out there, and I always enjoy learning from others, including MtM readers.  Beyond the holiday season, I tend to use these shopping principles throughout the year.  Of course, I don’t view these as absolute rules – thoughtful exceptions or splurges happen here and there.  But I try to follow this framework of principles as much as possible on an everyday basis.  I can always improve, though.  What holiday shopping principles have worked out well for you in the past?

Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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