Category: Shopping

For today’s guest post on Christmas shopping all year long, please welcome back fellow blogger Anum Yoon.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year—unless you leave all your Christmas shopping until November and December. The long lines, the rush to get to the mall on Black Friday, the stampede to pick up this year’s hottest toy—it’s all part of the game, and it’s a game that can make you very, very tired.

What happens when you don’t put off your Christmas shopping until November? Does it matter? It actually does, and you’ll be a lot less likely to encounter the emotional dumpster fire that ignites as the clock steadily marches closer to Christmas. Not convinced? If you need more reasons than that alone to start shopping sooner, here are five more reasons to start picking up presents year-round.Continue reading“Why You Should Christmas Shop All Year Long”

Bargain hunting can save you money, and who doesn’t love a bargain? Of course, we all do. But for some people, looking for the next “great deal” becomes an addiction. The call of the clearance rack wins out over practical matters like common sense and whether you need or want what you found. You may not even have a place to put it. I’m almost positive you have some things hanging in your closet right now that still have the tags on them from way back when you got “that great bargain”.

Getting a “bargain” on something that you will never need or use is a complete waste of your time and money!Continue reading“How “Bargain Brain” Can Tank Your Finances”

I know it seems hard to believe but summer has passed the mid-way point (that was August 5th) and it’s time to start looking towards fall. That means getting ready by shopping the two big events that occur at this time every shopping year: Back to School Sales and Summer Clearances.

Despite my spending over 30 years in the retail business (most of those in malls when they were the kings of retail), I still feel like you do and shake my head when I realize that in August we are already talking about the fall. I remember those “fun days” shopping for my kids at the back to school and summer clearances and although it wasn’t the highlight of my summers back then, it was worth the time and prep to save some real money.Continue reading“Save Money with Back to School Sales and Summer Clearances”

I have been a customer of Sears all of my life, and now that relationship could be ending as Sears fights to stay in business. Please don’t laugh; there are real reasons why Sears has been sentimental for me. First of all, my mother worked there for over 20 years from when I was a kid all the way though my college years. I too worked there the summer between high school and my first year in college in their warehouse. Mom helped me get the job.

We weren’t a wealthy family, as I have written previously, and many of my clothes were handed down to me from my Dad’s boss’s son when I was growing up. The only other clothes I ever had until I was about 18 came from Sears & Roebuck.Continue reading“The Death Knell for Sears, K-Mart, and Shop Your Way?”