Posted on Sun, Nov. 20, 2011

Finding a sale is just not good enough for Mary Pat Pankoke of Parkland. When this mom of two does her holiday shopping, she combines coupons, rebates and smart shopping strategies to secure deep discounts on gifts for kids Kate, 22, and Adam, 15.

For Pankoke, part owner of CouponClasses.com, saving is second nature. But money experts say there are plenty of ways to curb your spending during the holidays.

“It’s easy to go in the stores and get caught up in sales. Everything looks like a steal,” said Ana Maria Martinetti-Katz, director of financial planning, Cathy Pareto and Associates in Coral Gables. “But you could end up worse off than you were before … You need to come up with a plan before you hit the stores. Start with a list of who you are buying for, and make a budget.”

In this economy, many people are financially-strapped and wondering how they will come with extra cash for holiday expenses, she said. If you start with a list and a spending limit, it’s easier to keep away from “deals” that will end up costing you more in the long run.

Here are some tips on how to spend less on your holiday shopping this season:

Where to find cash

•  Look at resources: Have a garage sale, get rid of your junk and make money for the holidays, Martinetti-Katz said. Pick names and have a gift exchange with friends or siblings, instead of buying each person a gift. Within your group, exchange services, such as for a home-cooked meal or a week of errand-running, instead of buying gifts.

•  Use credit cards wisely: Take advantage of reward credit cards to earn points on your purchases only if you are disciplined about paying cards off, Martinetti-Katz said. “You don’t want to finance the holiday and spend more on your gifts than they’re worth,” she said.

Avoid layaway traps: Layaways can help you budget if you pay with cash, Martinetti-Katz said. But watch out for fees. “Do your homework. If you’re paying with cash, it can be a disciplined way to help you spend,” she said. “But if you’re paying with a credit card, it can be a trap depending on how well you do paying off your card.”

•  Find holiday work: “If there is a store you like, see if you can get on as holiday help, make some cash and earn discounts at a place you like to shop,” Martinetti-Katz said.

Shop wisely

•  Comparison shop: Before you hit the mall, go online and compare prices at retailers you frequent, at online marketplaces like Amazon.com and price comparison sites like Pricegrabber.com. “Or just Google it,” Martinetti-Katz said. “Get to know prices, so when you do see a deal, you know it’s a deal.”

•  Shop online: “Many times, you can get free shipping, pay no sales tax, avoid the malls and save gas and time,” Martinetti-Katz said. The average shopper plans to do about 36 percent of their holiday shopping online, according to the National Retail Federation. And retailers are ready — nine in 10 online retailers plan on offering free shipping at some point in the holiday season, according to Shop.org’s eHoliday survey conducted by BIGresearch in September and October.

•  Use rebate sites: Pankoke shops through portals like ebates.com, which gives you cash back for going through the site to shop at retailers like Toys R Us, Kohl’s and Groupon. Retailers pay ebates a commission for referrals, and ebates gives part of the commission back to you. “ebates also has coupon codes and they have double cash back days,” Pankoke said. “Last year I got a $120 item for Adam that was 20 percent off, plus I got 14 percent back because it was a double bonus day. I ended up with about a $40 savings.”

Shop through Upromise.com (or link your credit cards to the site) and rebates can be applied to college savings or returned to you in cash. At Shopathome.com, earn points to redeem for gift cards.

•  Price matching: Bring a competitor’s sales circular into stores that offer price matching, like Walmart or Target, and do all of your shopping in one trip, Pankoke said. Walmart’s price matching guarantee says if you buy now and find a better deal later, they will refund you the difference on a gift card. Pankoke says she prefers to take advantage of price matching at Target, because using the store’s credit card gets her an additional five percent off. A cautionary note: Some stores will not price match on door busters on Black Friday, she said.

•  Find gift card bonuses: Look for businesses to offer bonuses when you buy a gift card, Pankoke said. Restaurants such as Outback and Carrabba’s Italian Grille are offering a bonus $20 gift card for every $100 in gift cards you buy through Dec. 31. Go to PlasticJungle.com to buy gift cards at a discount or sell your unwanted gift cards. There are no fees and shipping is free.

Smarter gift giving

•  Give coupons with gift cards: “If you give someone a Subway gift card plus some two-for-one coupons, you give extra value and make it stretch further,” Pankoke said.

•  Cheaper magazine subscriptions: Pankoke never pays full price for a gift subscription, by using deals from Groupon or LivingSocial.com. “If you go through ebates for your Groupon, that’s even better,” she said.

•  Gift baskets: Free and low cost items that Pankoke gets through couponing are great for gift baskets, Pankoke said. You can assemble a make-up basket for a teen, or a collection of household items for a senior citizen for very little cost, she said.

•  Store deals: Walgreens and CVS offer cash back or store credit for buying certain items, Pankoke said. She shops the deals, and uses the bonus cash to buy DVDs, perfume sets and other holiday gifts. Office supply stores like Office Depot and OfficeMax offer rewards for purchases that can be redeemed in the store for other merchandise.

•  Shop ahead: After-holiday clearance sales can be a great time to stock up for next year, says Wendy Kemper of Davie, mom of Kadin, 6; and Korey, 4.

“I buy things at 75 percent off, then stuff them in the garage,” she said. “When I need a gift, I just go to my stash.” Kemper has scored $40 Disney toys for $7 and pajama sets for a couple of dollars. “You have to think ahead as your child grows,” she said. “Next year my kids will be into Lego’s, so after the holidays I’ll be looking for Lego’s.”

•  Green your habits: At Trash to Treasure reuse facility in Fort Lauderdale, there is a warehouse of donated goods, including new holiday decorations and items from store closeouts, that can be had for a small fee ($10 for up to 20 pounds.) The facility also holds workshops on making your own cards and ornaments throughout December, owner Casey Eckels said. “You can Google a project and learn how to do it,” she said. “What we bring to the table are raw materials to do the projects.” Visit Trash2Treasurefl.org.

•  Gifts from the heart: “Holidays are about the sentiment that tells people you care about them; it’s not about spending money,” Martinetti-Katz said.

Use your kids’ artwork in a present for grandparents, or give homemade “gift certificates” for babysitting, baking or gardening. Have family members write about a special memory and bind them in a book for an elderly relative. Gather treasured family photos and arrange them in a photo book for a loved one. Make a personalized photo gift from sites like Visa Print or Snapfish, which offers deep discounts during the holidays.

“People get caught up in the consumerism,” Martinetti-Katz said. “A gift you make from the heart speaks volumes.”