How to hack your holiday shopping to spend less and save more

For many people, the season of giving is also the season of shopping. Some look forward to this annual tradition, while others get Scrooge-y about it. Whether shopping brings you joy or pain, here are some ways to save money and avoid hassles this holiday season.

It’s easy to overspend this time of year — holiday cheer is a powerful thing — leaving you at risk when January credit card bills roll in.

Develop a realistic budget. Include how much you can comfortably spend on gifts, plus wrap and decor, and stick to that amount. Remember to consider costs for travel, dining out, and other holiday merriment that may expand your non-gift spending.

From there, decide how much you can spend on each person on your list.

Do your homework. Delaware Valley Consumers’ Checkbook research has proven that many “sales” aren’t really special and that shoppers can often do better. Do a quick internet search for the product you want, and you’ll usually get prices from several stores. Also check prices offered among main competitors (for example, Lowe’s vs. Home Depot and Target vs. Walmart).

There are dozens of smartphone apps and websites that post the best deals. Some trustworthy sites are PayPal Honey, PriceGrabber.com, ShopSavvy.com, and Yahoo! Shopping. Amazon’s price-checking tool is integrated into its mobile app. And CamelCamelCamel.com, which tracks price histories of items sold by Amazon for the past year, is often helpful for identifying how low an item’s price might go.

When shopping online, you’ll often be able to enter a promotional or coupon code. There are many websites that track these deals; we most often check CouponCabin.com, RetailMeNot.com, and Slickdeals.net. Though these resources can share expired deals or false leads, it’s worth spending a few minutes checking for potential savings.

If you’re an older adult, military or veteran family, teacher, student, or first responder, check whether you qualify for a discount. Some retailers allow these discounts only in-store, but others apply them to online orders after a verification process. Check TheSeniorList.com for a roundup of discounts.

Connect with retailers on social media and sign up for their emails, which can contain discount codes. Many stores offer one-time discounts of 10% to 25% when you sign up for their email lists. Have more than one email address? Sign up with another address the next time you’re ready to buy.

Following style bloggers and Instagram influencers can also pay off when retailers partner with them to offer their followers special deals.

A growing number of websites and apps — such as Rakuten.com, BeFrugal.com, MrRebates.com, and CouponCabin.com — share commissions they receive from businesses with their customers.

Your kickback depends on which cashback portal you use and where you shop. Before making a big purchase, check with CashbackMonitor.com, which aggregates offers for rebate sites and reports the best payouts.

Many retailers still hit mailboxes with catalogs and coupons. The trick is to avoid temptation for things you don’t need. If there’s a coupon code, snap a pic with your phone and recycle the catalog to avoid a junk pile.

Keep an eye on retailers’ sites for a few weeks after you’ve made a purchase to see whether prices have dropped. Some stores offer an adjustment within seven days of purchase, some 30 days or longer.

If you’re shopping in-store and find a lower price elsewhere, ask for a price match. Checkbook found that many stores will honor lower prices offered by their competitors, and most companies make this simple.

Many retailers now push Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) plans as a convenient way to pay for purchases. The basic model for retail purchases is simple: Buy what you want and pay back the loan in equal installments, often without interest. But beware: These point-of-sale loans can lure you into buying things you can’t afford.

Sellers offer BNPL because they’ve found that these arrangements help them close deals, but most consumers who sign up don’t really understand how these plans work.

Not all BNPL offers are the same; check the terms and conditions before using one. Most BNPL loans have late fees that in some cases may be reported to the credit bureaus and damage your credit history.

Many stores have restrictive return policies or make sending back online purchases a huge hassle. Some are now trying to discourage returns by making customers pay fees to ship back purchases (L.L. Bean for example, deducts $6.50 from your refund to cover return shipping).

If you think you might need to return an item you’re purchasing, or you’re buying a gift, familiarize yourself with the return policy. Standard policies often flex or extend during the holiday shopping season to allow ample time for gift returns and exchanges.

To make the return process smoother (or to request a price adjustment), hang on to your receipt, or give a gift receipt to the recipient. Many retailers offer both print and email receipts. If you choose only one, make it email. That way, you’ll be able to easily access the receipt later, when paper receipts tend to be crumpled in a pocket or purse.

Until Jan. 5, Inquirer readers can view all of Checkbook’s advice (including much more on shopping success) and ratings of local service providers and stores free via Checkbook.org/Inquirer/shop.

Delaware Valley Consumers’ Checkbook magazine and Checkbook.org is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help consumers get the best service and lowest prices. We are supported by consumers and take no money from the service providers we evaluate.