How to Save Money Christmas Shopping

It's that time of year again – for those of us who are financially disciplined, you've either already completed your 2008 holiday shopping or you've got the money set aside and ready to go. For the rest of us, we've only just barely thought about Christmas shopping – and believe it or not, the big day is just 20 shopping days away! If you're dreaded the holiday season because you don't know where the money is going to come from to purchase your gifts – this guide will come in handy. Here are 8 ways to save money on your 2008 Christmas shopping:

Become an Amazon.com Associate

You know what an affiliate is, right? Amazon Associates can offer someone else's products for sale and earn a commission for any sales generated. Sign up, create links for the items you need to buy, and purchase through your own links. You'll get back some money in commission.

Visit CouponCodes.com for Discounts

Couponcodes.com offers coupon codes that can be used when shopping online. The site gives you a wide variety of coupon codes for each retailer listed on the site – but if there aren't any coupons available it will offer up details on current sales or discounts available.  There are a number of sites that offer coupons, take a look to find the sites offering coupons for the stores you shop most often.

Use FatWallet.com for Cash Back

Do all your holiday shopping through FatWallet.com (you'll probably find all of your favorite retailers there), and earn cash back between 1% and 20%. It's a bit like using a credit card with cash back – except that it's the website itself that gives you cash back for purchases. The money is applied to your FatWallet account, and you can redeem it as soon as you've reached a $10 minimum. Once logged in, keep your eye on special offers – during the holiday season, some retailers offer higher amounts of cash back to encourage shoppers to buy from them.



Comparison Shop with PriceGrabber.com

When you know what you're shopping for, go to PriceGrabber.com, type in the product name and then compare. You'll see several retailers offering your item for sale, as well as the prices. You might be surprised at how differently items are priced at different stores! This allows you to see at a glance which store has your item for the smallest price tag. As an additional incentive to use PriceGrabber.com to find your items; some products offer $5 bonus for reviews. After you buy the item and submit a review, the site will give you $5 for your time.

Don't Forget Your Sunday Paper

Throughout the year, you can find coupons for local stores in your Sunday newspaper. Between November and December, the number of coupons and the value of the coupons increase considerably. It is not unusual to find $5 off a purchase of $10 or $15 at your favorite local department store in the paper, so keep your eye out for coupons and special sale fliers and use them whenever you can to save money.

Friends and Family Discounts

If you know people who work in retail stores that you want to shop in, ask them if the store participates in a friends and family discount program. Many stores allow their employees to offer a discount to their friends and family on certain days or on certain items.

Outlet Stores

You can get everything from food to clothing to furniture and toys at discount prices at outlet stores. Typically the items are slightly less than perfect, so be sure to inspect them before buying but sometimes they are simply “last season” or overstock items that are sold at reduced prices to get them off the sales floor.

Convert Your Credit Card Rewards Points

Many credit cards allow you to turn reward points in for gift cards. Get some and give them as gifts or slide them into your significant other's stocking!

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