How to Hit the After Holiday Sales

In this article you will learn tips on how to optimize your saving potential as you tackle the after holiday sales.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A planned itinerary
• Patience
• An eye for deals

1. Before you even leave the house on your shopping excursion, you should have a well laid out map of your determined destinations. Search fliers, circulars and the internet for sales and specials. Determine which stores are likely to have the items you are looking for.
2. Another necessity to have, BEFORE leaving the driveway, is a list of items you intend to purchase. This will help you to tame the desire to snatch up any useless piece of merchandise that might be on clearance just for the sake of getting a "deal". After all, if you don't need it, it isn't really a deal.
3. Things to consider when making your list are what household items you currently need, or may use in the future. Often after Christmas and other holidays, any product that is even wrapped in holiday packaging goes on clearance. This may include kleenex, papertowel, candy, etc. Remember, however, only get what you will use.
4. A way to make a bit of extra cash by hitting the after holiday sales is to stock up on clearanced holiday items that you can resell the following year on Ebay. Christmas lights and decorations, Halloween costumes, toys, and any other seasonal item that won't be too outdated is a good purchase, as long as you get a descent discount and are fairly sure you can resell the goods for more than you paid. Stocking up on upcoming birthday, shower, fathers and mothers day gifts, etc. is a good idea. Also, stock up on cheap wrapping paper that can be used the following year.
5. Some places to shop for good discounts after the holidays are drug stores such as Walgreens and furniture stores. They have limited stock room and usually deeply discount items between one to two weeks after the holiday. If you are a Walmart shopper, be prepared to venture out before daybreak on the day after a holiday, as many other hungry shoppers are headed there as well.

Tips & Warnings

• Only buy what you need or know you can use.
• Plan out what stores you will hit before you leave the house.
• Avoid impulse buys
• Comparison shop, if you are purchasing a large ticket item, don't snatch it up at the first store, unless you are quite certain you won't find it cheaper somewhere else.