Last year, supply chain issues left many shelves short on stock, forcing impulse buys to get items in-demand. This year, the shelves may be a little fuller, but record-high inflation and interest rates will likely leave you getting less bang for your buck.
Lauren Weatherford, a WVU Extension Family and Community Development agent, recently warned consumers in the Mountain State that smart shopping should take priority in order to avoid overspending this year.
“We haven’t seen the same inventory problems we’ve seen for the past two years,” she said. “Last year, that was a big thing we were recommending — if you see it, especially if it’s a good price, buy it; don’t wait because the inventory would be out. So far, we’re not seeing that this year.”
This year, Weatherford said, the biggest thing is that most of our budgets have not increased, but the costs have greatly increased.
“And at Christmas, it is so easy to impulse-buy or be hesitant to pull back on spending because, you know, we equate that with how we care for our loved ones,” Weatherford said. “And I really think that this year we’re going to see some real big financial hangovers happening in January and February.”
There are still a lot of ways you can save, she said, but it’s going to take some real work to get to it, starting with making a budget for the holidays to help avoid impulse-buying and spending unnecessary money.
However, Weatherford said to remember to include more than just the price of the gifts themselves in your budget — you need to include the cost of all the fanfare associated with the holiday.
“You need to include all of it. I think that’s the key to when you’re looking at your spending — don’t forget the other stuff,” Weatherford said. “It’s not just the gifts — it’s about the wrapping and the decorations and the food and all that — and not forgetting that that costs as well.”
Credit cards are one the biggest things Weatherford said to be wary of this year. The average interest rate on credit cards is currently around 19% and Weatherford said there are some cards charging as much as 45%.
“Debt has gone up in the past six months more than it’s gone up in several years, particularly in credit cards, and I don’t see that stopping,” she said. “So if you have to use your cards, just try to pay it off every month to avoid paying that additional interest.”
Even with the high cost of goods and interest rates, Weatherford said putting in the work doing research and price matching will pay off in the form of savings.
“It’s kind of like the old clipping coupons when, you know, people used to sit down and spend days going through fliers and newspapers and stuff. There was this investment of time and effort to be able to get to the point where you could really save the big money,” Weatherford explained. “And I think that’s what you’re looking at now.”
Finding the best prices can be difficult, particularly because stores have been starting holiday sales earlier and earlier every year, making it confusing to know when the best price is being offered.
“You know, they started Christmas sales at the end of September this year. It used to be that it was Black Friday, right? Then it was Black Friday and Cyber Monday, then Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Local Saturday,” Weatherford said. “How do you know when the best price is going to happen? You know, maybe it’s this week, maybe it was last week, maybe it’s the week after. It’s just kind of hard to know when it is.”
According to Weatherford, one of your best bets to finding the lowest prices is doing your research and trying to go to those Black Friday or Christmas saving websites that keep watch and compare prices at different retailers.
Many independent retailers and credit card companies offer price matching guarantees to help protect you from paying too much, but many times it’s not as simple as looking at a price from one retailer and getting a price match from another.
“It’s kind of buying it, getting the receipt, scanning it in, and sending it in to get a reimbursement,” Weatherford said. “Or with some retailers you have to do it in the store and it has to be on the same day. You know, do you save money? Yes. But is it gonna take some work to get to that point? Yes.”
Weatherford also said to not forget the power of homemade gifts like a collection of family recipes and traditions or creating a keepsake with photos or videos. She also suggested giving the gift of your time by offering to clean the house, make repairs, babysit, or cook a meal.
“I think the key to looking at all these things is really doing the work it’s going to take to get to the point where you’re going to save that money,” Weatherford concluded. “And really watching that spending on those credit cards and realizing, you know, that you just might not be able to have the same kind of Christmas as you had before — and it’ll still be great.”
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