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How To Beat The Holiday Stress And Save Big Bucks
Every year stress is a main ingredient during the holidays. With Thanksgiving and Christmas not far off, most of us think say the same thing to ourselves: This is the year I will shop early so I can avoid last minute shopping. I will begin the holiday season fully relaxed and enjoy it! Yet every year time seems to slip away and suddenly the holidays arrive. You end up racing to the stores, panic-stricken, trying to find candy in the empty racks or a beautiful turkey for the dinner table that is now triple the price because the only store that has any left is the high-end market down the street. Even worse, when you need to find that ideal last-minute gift for your loved ones, it is no longer available in the color or size needed and all the toys requested from Santa are sold out with no re-stocks in the near future. You end up paying far too much money for something that will most likely be returned or never used. How can you beat pre-holiday stress and save big bucks at the same time? Start today. The time to put a plan into action is now. Halloween is nearly here and there are big savings in the candy isle already featuring Halloween candy. Buy the candy now, wrap it in a brown paper bag and hide it in your freezer so no one knows it's there but you. If you are a candy nut like me, buy a bit for yourself so you won't be tempted to snarf it. Now is also the time to plan for Thanksgiving and Christmas. While the meat is not on sale yet, you can call your local market and ask the store manager when their holiday meats will go on sale. Most store managers will give you an approximate date for when the meat you desire will go on sale at their store. Mark that date on your calendar. How many times have you said to yourself: This year I will get Christmas cards out. Before you know it December is nearly over and Christmas is days away. You haven't purchased the Christmas cards let alone put a stamp on one and you are too busy with everything else to do it. You beat yourself up, frustrated that yet again, you are too late and time has run out. To avoid this frustrating cycle, start now when you aren't as busy as you will be later on in the season. Do one envelope a day or two or three a week and by Christmas, you will have reached your goal. If you don't have Christmas cards left over from last year, do a Christmas letter instead to save time and money. Then after Christmas buy the cards for next year at 75% off so you'll have the cards ready to go for next year. Now is also the time to shop for Christmas gifts. Many huge sales take place during Back to School Days and the day after Thanksgiving. Most stores have huge discounts on name brand clothing, toys and jewelry to name just a few categories. Example: Last year a diamond bracelet valued at $5,000 was on sale for $199.00 but only the day after Thanksgiving and only during the early bird special. That's typical of the type of sales you can expect if you do your research. Check out the stock in the store now if you're already there and make a list of what you would like to buy on sale the day after Thanksgiving so you are prepared to head straight to the departments needed. Making a road map of what department you want to hit first, will help you avoid wandering aimlessly and missing the items you've placed on your list. If you think of it as a game show or competition, you'll be more inspired. There are many more stress busting ideas and ways to save money that you can come up with on your own. These are just a few to get you started. The main goal is to start now and be ready when the time comes so you won't be shopping when you're stressed out and frustrated. Make the time now and you'll be enjoying the holidays as you did when you were a kid. Keywords: christmas, holiday shopping, save money, christmas cards, jaci rae, avoid stress during the holidays, holiday stress, holiday stress buster About the Author Jaci Rae's grit and determination brought her from a poor childhood to become the owner of several successful corporations. A singer and #1 Best selling author who tours around the world, Jaci is also well known for her unique and successful marketing strategies. Jaci is on the dating team of Savvymiss.com, the relationship expert for lovingyou.com and is a relationship advisor for loveisgreat.com and singlescafe.net. Jaci Rae is also a co-host for the show Concert's in the Sky with Jesse Dylan. Jaci Rae's latest books are, Shop for a Day with Jaci Rae - How to Get Almost Anything for Free or Next to It and Collista's Search for the True Meaning of Christmas. Other books are Winning Points With The Woman In Your Life One Touchdown At A Time and The Indie Guide to Music, Marketing and Money. For more information http://www.shopforaday.com , http://www.grannysnaturalpopcorn.com , http://www.winningromance.com http://www.christmaswithlove.com or http://www.jacirae.com About.com Dating Guide lists Jaci's book, Winning Points With The Woman In Your Life One Touchdown At A Time in the top six of all time dating / relationship books. http://dating.about.com/od/datingadvice/ss/RelateBooks_6.htm |
