With the holidays behind us, we’re left with a lot of gifts and cash. If you hurry and head to the stores, you may be able to take advantage of great discounts and put your holiday gift cards or cash to good use. Here are some tips to consider when shopping at this time of the year.
- Winter Season Sales – Can’t wait for spring?! Neither can stores. Right now you can find ridiculous discounts on holiday related items. Whether its lights, decorations, candles, wrapping paper, gift boxes, or trees, chances are you’ll find these items at up to 75% off right now. Save them for next year and you can rock the halls with new decor and gift wrap. Not interested in decorations, you say? Well, how about your closet? You can save big on winter season apparel. If you’re looking for warm, chic clothing at a price that won’t break your wallet, head to the mall with the holiday money your grandparents gave you and get yourself into this season’s greatest styles.
- Holiday Food – You need to get into your car RIGHT NOW if you want to have one last Pumpkin Spice Latte or another box of Joe Joe’s. Hurry, these will not last long.
- Gym Memberships – If you’re looking to get your beach body back, fine-tune your abs, or simply lose the holiday weight, now is the time to get your gym membership. Many gyms offer discounted rates for the New Year and some even offer free trials to get you started.
- Cell Phones – Whatever you do, DO NOT BUY A PHONE RIGHT NOW!!! Sell one instead. Whenever a major phone manufacturer announces a new phone, the prices of the previous phones drop significantly. Spring has proven in recent years to be a time in which new phones are in full bloom (except for iPhones, they bloom in the fall). If you want a great deal on any phone, buy used. Used phones do not mean they are broken and they can run as well as new phones.
- Televisions – Unless you accidentally broke your TV using a Wiimote over the holidays, you don’t need to buy a new TV, no matter how bad the resolution is. 4K televisions are the future and are expected to become more affordable throughout the year. Black Friday is, hands down, the best time to buy any television. In the meantime, your phone or tablet probably has more pixels than your TV will ever have and chances are, you already watch Netflix on it anyway. Buy a phone or tablet stand (I think tablet floor stands are the best since you get a bigger screen) and Bluetooth headphones (I think the Photive BTH3 are really great sounding headphones, with an affordable price tag on Amazon) and you’ve got a great personal portable TV. If you can’t wait a year for the next season of your favorite show to be added on Netflix, consider subscribing to Hulu. If you don’t want to pay extra, you can sign up for Bing Rewards and redeem your earned credits for a “Free month of Hulu” gift card.
- Do Nothing! – You can always save your money and not spend it all at once.
If you need financial advice, Shelley Murphy, our Vice President of Lending, offers FREE Financial Advice and would be happy to help you! You may contact Shelley at (925) 335-3824.
Luis Dominguez
Student Social Media Intern
1st Nor Cal Credit Union