This time of year is all about abundance: holiday parties, decadent food and (if you’re lucky) presents and treats to last year-round. But if there’s one thing you’re likely short on this holiday season, it’s time. Save your time (and your sanity) with these online tips and tricks which will get your shopping done and save you money, so you can enjoy the rest of what the holidays have to offer.
1. Save for the holidays year-round. Don’t wait until the holidays to start saving for gifts and entertainment, only to dig yourself into a financial hole. Instead, plan your spending year-round (after all, if you’re truly sticking to a budget, you will know well in advance how much you can spend). Use your online banking portal to create a holiday subsavings account within your checking account. Then automatically deposit a set amount to that account for holiday spending so there’s no temptation to spend it on something else. You can even set up multiple subsavings folders — one for shopping, one for dining out and even one for self-gifting.
2. Prepay your holiday fund. It’s easy to get carried away with a “guesstimated” budget. Instead, allocate the specific amount of money you want to spend on gifts on a prepaid card, such as those offered by Visa or American Express. Load the card onto your phone for streamlined checkout at participating stores; as a bonus, you won’t have to worry about losing it. When that card is depleted, the holiday shopping is over!
3. Cut the clutter. The holiday catalog onslaught is bad enough; don’t let your inbox flood with daily deals, too. Use Unroll.Me to unsubscribe from unwanted offers, newsletters and promotions. Once you sign up, the service pulls up all your subscriptions so you can make one click and delete them, or focus on just the holiday deals you need for your shopping list. The site also lets you bundle all your subscriptions into one daily email Rollup; you can even decide what time it’s delivered to your mailbox. Schedule your Rollup to appear on your commute home, and you’ll be ready to shop by the time you walk through the door.
4. Plan before you go. Over half of consumers plan to do their holiday shopping in stores this season, according to the National Retail Federation. That could mean a lot of time spent away from work and home, not to mention a lot of money spent in gas. So get organized before you go with apps like Santa’s Bag or Christmas Gift List, which allow you to create profiles and specific gift lists for each recipient, and even alert you when those items go on sale. You should also consider carpooling with friends to the mall and sharing gas costs, or taking public transportation if your area has it.
5. Master the mall. Brave the busiest retail season of the year with FastMall. This app features maps of malls all over the country, so you can strategize your shopping route before you even leave home. Especially useful for battling holiday shopping crowds, you can either browse the mall’s directory or search for a specific store and plan accordingly. And don’t worry about Wi-Fi; once you’ve downloaded your map you can use it offline. Bonus: FastMall can help you find parking close to the end of your route for an easy exit.
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5 Online Hacks to Save Time and Money This Holiday Season originally appeared on usnews.com
