Holidays AKA Big Savings Days

Deck the halls and stack up savings.

Whether you love Easter, Christmas, Back to School, or all the above, holidays are a good time to be with family and friends. You cook a whole bunch of food, maybe exchange some gifts, and overall just have fun, mixed in with a little family drama. All this means spending a lot of money. What you may not know just yet, is that you can save a lot on those Big Spend Holidays. Let's take a look at how you can spend money on the holidays without maxing out your credit cards.

Nabbing Holiday Deals

With everyone rushing around to grab anything and everything while stocks last, holiday shopping can turn from a fun trip to a nightmare in less time than it takes you to say, Santa Claus. Lucky for you, we've got some hints, tips, and tricks to beating the holiday shopping fever.

Always Make Lists

The worst thing you can do while holiday shopping is to indulge your impulse buying tendency. You'll go out to the store to get a turkey for Thanksgiving and next thing you know, you're going home with five new Nike sneakers. Writing down a list of all the things you need will at least help you stay on track. You can search for the items on your list in online stores and compare prices so you see which one offers the best deal. If your targeted store features on Codes.co.uk, you can find some vouchers and discount codes to use and maximise savings.

Shop Ahead

The main reason why people end up spending a lot during the holidays is because of last-minute shopping. The demand for most essentials increases during such times, so you'll find everyone fighting over the little that's available. Retailers may also take advantage of the situation and raise prices around holiday time.

You can beat both by shopping for stuff in advance instead of waiting until the last minute. If possible, you can save some vouchers and discount codes to use during the holiday season. You'll need to make sure they're still valid though, or you'll have a whole stack of saving tools and no way to save.

Check for Holiday Deals

To celebrate the holidays, most retailers offer special discounts valid for each holiday period. This is where you come across the discount codes with combinations of letters and numbers that specify which holiday offer they're for. For example Thanksgiving20, Easter15, and so on. You can check for those holiday deals online and stack up discount codes and vouchers to use when you shop. Or you can check for in-store deals since most stores advertise special holiday offers well ahead of time.

'Not-Exactly-A-Holiday' Holiday Savings

If you live on earth, you've definitely heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Those days have become so popular, you'd be forgiven for thinking they were public holidays too. Unfortunately, Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren't actually holidays, but fortunately, retailers treat them like they are. So what are they and what do they mean for your bank account? Read on and find out how you can save with Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.

Black Friday Shopping Hacks

So what is Black Friday? The day is a once-a-year occasion where a majority of retailers offer most of their stock at crazy-high discounts. It's always on the first Friday after Thanksgiving and you can find excellent deals on almost anything online and in physical stores. Four shopping hacks you can try to make the most out of your Black Friday shopping are:

1. Scout out the store before the event

A little while before Black Friday, every store offering the promotion puts out adverts about it and everything you can get at reduced prices. This is their way of generating a buzz around the event so they get more customers. To maximise on savings on this day, you should do your research and find all the available deals on the things you want to buy. Once you pick out the best one, you'll have a clear idea of which store you'll be standing in line at, waiting for the doors to open. It sure beats running around like a headless chicken from one store to another, hoping to find what you need.

2. Work as a team

In the likely event that the things you want to buy are in separate stores, you'll need help getting to everything. If you have family or friends with some free time and the energy to wrestle that HD telly you want out of someone else's hands, then you can plan your shopping and distribute the items you need among each other. That way, you'll shop more effectively, get everything you need, and still save money (and your sanity).

3. Use Social Media

If you read through our post about where to find free vouchers and discount codes, you'll remember social media was one of the sources. Towards special discount events like Black Friday, retailers post about their promotions and special offers. You might even be lucky enough to get vouchers to use in their stores.

4. Stick to the list

No matter how appealing that 95% discount off a clam shell lamp (or something weirder) is, if you went in with a list of things to buy, you should stick to it. A lot of time, shopping impulses lead to overspending, especially if the things bought on impulse weren't actually something you really needed, and just something that caught your eye in the heat of the moment.

Cyber Monday Tips and Tricks

The Cyber Monday shopping event is not as popular as Black Friday, even though it's just as good. Retailers originally created it to encourage more customers to shop online. According to a survey of 4,500 shoppers by Episerver, 38% of UK consumers shop online at least once a week. Cyber Monday is always on the Monday after Thanksgiving and it's one of the biggest online shopping days of the year. You can easily save on Cyber Monday with the following 3 tips:

1. Check for deals early

Retailers present their Cyber Monday deals online before the day arrives. If you follow them on social media and check their websites regularly, you might bump into some vouchers, discount codes, voucher codes and updates on their deals.

2. Sign up for newsletters

Never underestimate the power of a good e-newsletter. A lot of retailers offer discounts to customers who sign up to receive their newsletter. In addition to the welcome discount, you'll also get notified of upcoming sales events like the Cyber Monday deals and get exclusive, subscriber-only vouchers.

3. Compare prices

It's good practice to compare prices across different stores offering Cyber Monday deals so you can see which one has the best. Your price comparison should also consider extra costs like shipping (if it applies to your order).