To Save Money, Start on Your Holiday Shopping Plans Now

Shopping with purpose and planning ahead will help you give great gifts without going over budget.

Early planning allows families to focus on celebrating the season. William Warby/Unsplash

For 2025, according to PwC, 84 percent of consumers say they will be cutting their holiday spending. If you’re one of those people who are trying to stretch your holiday budget without losing the cheer, you should start planning for the holidays in September—if not earlier! You can save money by laying out a plan early for gift-giving and other holiday traditions and taking advantage of sales throughout the season.

Budget by Creating a Gift-Giving Plan

Most people tout making a holiday budget, but this can be easier said than done. That’s because you probably don’t want to skimp on gifts for your immediate family, and a lot of your shopping may be done at the last minute. That’s where the three-gift rule comes into play.

Based on the three gifts given by the wise men, the three-gift rule means giving three gifts from you (or from Santa, if applicable). The gifts are in categories, including something the recipient wants, something they need, and something to read. Following this plan helps you plan and stay on budget.

For bigger budgets, the eight-gift method will work. The eight categories are something the recipient wants, something they need, something to wear, something to read, something to do, something to eat, something to play, and something for the family to enjoy. Have children write a list with potential gifts in each category. Then, determine which gifts to get based on your budget.

By using a gift-giving plan, you can not only plan what gifts to give, relieving that stress, but also develop a budget for each category. This helps you save money.

Don’t Be Distracted When Shopping

You can browse, or you can buy. Browsing will cost you, while buying will keep you on budget. When you browse, you’re just wandering around the store or clicking through an online retailer, with no goal in mind. You’ll be more prone to impulse buys that will quickly take you beyond your budget.

Buying is when you select a specific item from your list. Browsing can cause you to overspend, as you'll likely encounter items you didn’t plan for. But buying keeps you focused on your list and keeps your budget intact.

Saving Online With Small Retailers

Lou Haverty, owner of online store Tank Retailer, told The Epoch Times, “With online shopping, the best approach is to find what you’re looking for at the larger stores like Amazon or Walmart and then look for smaller stores that sell the same products.”

Haverty explained that smaller e-commerce stores are likely to be more invested in competing for your business than the larger companies.

“See if the store has a phone number,” he said. “Give the store a call and let them know what you are thinking of purchasing and say that you found those items on Amazon, but you would rather purchase the items at a small business, and wanted to see if they would offer a better price.”

Haverty added that the owner of the online store will often be the one who answers the phone and may be open to a discount. “I know this because I still answer customer calls at my business,” he said, “and will frequently offer customers a discount if they ask me.”

Wait to Check Out When Shopping Online

One technique for receiving a discount online is not to complete the purchase, according to Haverty. Go ahead and fill out your shipping information, but don’t click the purchase button.

“If you click out of the store and wait a day or two, you will very frequently receive a discount code directly in your email inbox in a few days,” Haverty said.

The possibility of a discount is typically more common if you have never used your email to purchase from that store before.

Shopping In-Store to Save

It’s important to know when to look for deals. Online and in-store have different schedules when they reduce prices.

Liliana Tafoya, vice president of sales at Smart Blanks, told The Epoch Times: “Look for online deals on Tuesdays or Wednesdays; these days tend to be slower. For brick-and-mortar stores, look for sales on the weekends and, of course, showstopper events like Black Friday.”

Tafoya said that sales don’t sprout out of thin air; they are strategically planned months ahead. They are based on wholesale costs, projected demand, margins, and current inventory.

“If you’re seeing a good sale on a popular item, it’s likely the retailer over-ordered. You'll see genuine savings in cases like this. Also, look for steep discounts on less popular colors or holiday designs for real deals,” Tafoya said.

In-store discounts come in stages. Tafoya suggests looking for a second or third wave of holiday sales for the best deals.

“A first wave of broad discounts bring customers in; the second wave shows discounts on any surplus product that the company is trying to clear out, and with the third wave right before or after the holidays, you’ll find even steeper clearances,” Tafoya said.

The Key Is in the Planning

If you want to have a stress-free holiday and stay on budget for your spending, it’s imperative to have a plan. Start now to enjoy your holiday and avoid following it up with January blues brought on by overspending.