More Shopping Tips For The Holidays…

If you know of ways to save money – please email them to us at Tips@BeatTheRecession.com.

Get gift wrapping supplies to go. Don’t waste your valuable time waiting in line at the gift wrapping area. Get your supplies to go – and save on it. Just ask for boxes and get pretty gift wrapping at a discount store and gift wrap your presents yourself? It will take save you a lot of time and allow you to spend more “quality time” shopping

Expect uncertainty this year. The experts say that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are usually the best days to shop for the holidays but with the recession on everyone’s minds (and wallets) expect inventories to hang around much longer and prices to drop closer to the 25th.

Best Discounts. The best products to buy on post Thanksgiving Weekend are electronics such as low-end televisions and laptops, as well as big screen TVs. Some predict that shoppers will be able to buy 50-inch plasmas and 46-inch LCD television for under $1,000. GPS navigation systems made by Garmin and Tom Tom will be around $100. And Apple will have one of its best sales of the season, with most of its merchandise from iPods to laptops at solid discounts.

Be careful with rebates. Watch out with mail-in rebates and gift cards. Not to be too risk averse, but with this economy, many retailers may not make it, so if you want to give a gift card, make it a Visa or Amex gift card. And if the rebate is the reason you are buying a particular product, check that the company is very solid.

Make friends in line. A spirit of of the holidays is not only pleasant, it also could prove to be a blessing if you must give up your place in line so you can run to the bathroom. You could offer to hold a place in line for your newfound friend in return.

Cyber Monday will be the day to get deals at online-only stores like Overstock, Buy.com, Smartbargains.com, Discovery Channel.com.

Remember – Don’t take this too seriously. Enjoy it a bit