The deals and sales are very tempting. Before you get out there and do some shopping plan who are your going to buy gifts for. If you can’t afford it, even if an item is 50% off it’s not a great deal. My email box is full of great bargains but before I do any Christmas shopping I will look at who I want to purchase a gift for and also think about how much I want to spend. Shopping with a clear head and mind and a clear budget/spending plan will save you lots of headaches come January.

Check the prices of some items because the “sale” price of the “oh-so-fabulous”gift may not be on sale at all.

One email I received just listed “sale prices” of items some of which were the regular price but gussied up in a Christmas format!

Beware, shop wisely but budget before you go so you know if you are really getting a great deal!

Remember use cash when you can or be realistic about paying off the bills when they come after the holidays!

The best person to talk to in a store is the stock person. I was in a small market today and reached to get a small container of milk. The stock boy said, this one is a better buy, it’s on sale – save money. I put the smaller container back and got the larger one. The difference in price was only 26 cents but the difference in size was quadruple. I have never frozen milk, but it is possible to freeze it for later use.

Cashiers are often ones to ask about sales but to actually find items on the shelves and whether or not things are in stock… ask the stock person.

Short but sweet sales. Today I received an email from The Body Shop announcing a sale this afternoon for members only for three hours. You can buy 3 items for $30 on everything in the store from 3 – 6 p.m. some exclusions. Check it out! In stores only!

I made a special effort to buy a new hardcover book last weekend because I was able to get the book on sale, plus use a coupon and get an additional coupon good for a future purchase. In all I paid less than half the original price for the book with the discounts and have a coupon for 20% off of a future purchase good for a week or so. There are restrictions for the coupon such as no gift card purchases and ereaders aren’t included but brick and mortar book stores are trying to be more competitive with online booksellers.

When I was in my 20s there was a large local bookseller that had discounts and offered points for every dollar you spent. The amount you had to spend was reasonable and points accrued quickly. Some stores moved away from that, but booksellers like Borders have been offering triple rewards points or offering specials along with more coupons. For items that you know you will not return or even when making purchases for yourself, coupons from bookstores are good deals. Yes, you can borrow books from the library but when you have longer tomes of 1000 pages or so and only a limited amount of time to read, buying your own can save you stress and fees especially for new books which you sometimes aren’t able to get right away or aren’t able to renew when you do. The book I purchased was over 1000 pages and will go in the cue of other lengthy reads. It’s also by a favorite author, so I wanted it anyway.

For shorter books that you can reasonably read in fewer than the minimum amount of time you can read a book then buying your own might not be such a great thing.

Weigh the cost of the book and its length (along with your reading speed) to determine if buying your own book is the best route.

Finding the perfect gift shouldn’t be the only challenge you face this shopping season. Every holiday season people are warned about pickpockets and parking lot thefts and robberies. This year since the economy is poor it is important to remind people of personal safety.

Consider this… how many times have you seen people put their packages on the back seat of their vehicle and then go back into the store or mall? That seemingly innocuous event is just an invitation to thieves.

After shopping, especially when you are in a parking lot, do not sit in your car playing with the radio, checking receipts or other things. Lock your doors and leave. Many times I have seen women sitting in their cars like sitting ducks after they have been shopping. Get in your car, don’t dawdle – leave. Before getting to your vehicle, make sure you have your keys out.

If someone asks you for a donation, either keep some money in your pocket to put into the kettle or give to the person asking, but do not fish out your wallet or dig in your purse for money.

Prices that are too good to be true especially on the “hot” items of the season at an online retailer that you are unsure of, pay the extra money to buy from a reputable dealer. When in doubt, check it out. Sites with poor service or undelivered goods generally have many people who have reviews companies online.

An easy way to do your holiday shopping would be to do most of your shopping online at trusted retailers or just give cash.

If you are someone who has shied away from Coinstar because of the service charge that you must pay, here’s another reason to look at them especially with Christmas approaching. If you have more than $40 in change lying around you can get a $10 bonus if you put the $40 onto an e-certificate for more than a dozen retailers including Amazon, Eddie Bauer, Borders, Cabela’s J. C. Penny’s, CVS and more. The offer expires December 6 a few weeks before Christmas, but you can take advantage of the offer and have your shopping done early or get a little bonus when you do your shopping.

The researchers found that shoplifting — or what’s euphemistically known as product “shrinkage” — jumped 5.9% in the past year at the more than 1,000 retail chains the group surveyed globally. In previous years, the increase hovered at 1.5% annually. Though the problem was documented across all regions, the steepest increases occurred in North America (8.1%), the Middle East (7.5%) and Europe (4.7%). In terms of total losses, retailers in North America topped the charts at $46 billion, followed by Europe’s $44 billion and $17.9 billion in the Asia-Pacific region. In North America and Latin America, store owners and employees were the leading pilferers; in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, it was customers who were swiping the most loot.

Reports have recently noted that crime has not dramatically increased because of the recession. For those who don’t think that stealing from an employer is theft, then they need to realize that retail theft is still theft just as stealing office supplies or not doing any work while at work.

The study shows that there has been an increase of people stealing items, not that they need, but just things that they want. Basically, this is not Jean Valjean from Hugo’s Les Miserables stealing because of hunger. These are people who are stealing out of greed. Businesses pass these costs along to the shoppers at an average of $436 to the US consumer and $250 to European consumers.

If you can’t afford it, then don’t buy it or steal it.

Retailers aren’t as panicked about the upcoming holiday shopping season as they were last year.

With this scenario in mind, retail experts said their No. 1 tip for gift shoppers this year is grab what you want, when you see it.

“Merchants got burned badly last year when they were left with a lot of unsold merchandise after Christmas,” said George Whalin, retail expert and president and CEO of Retail Management Consultants.

There is a different feel about holiday shopping this year than last year. Retailers have discovered a new normal, which means more sparsely stocked shelves and a high rate of unemployment. If people are unemployed, they may be less likely to spend a lot for Christmas or other holiday gifts.

This news shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has been shopping lately. Remember a couple of years ago when the credit was flowing freely and the choices on the shelves and racks were seemingly endless. Those days are temporarily gone in some places. The only stores that seem to offer more choices are places that cater to crafts and home entertainment since more people are entertaining themselves with crafts and staying home to watch movies.

Since there are fewer items that retailers will offer for sale and will probably have only a limited amount of the “hottest” items available, then it will difficult to get those bargains. This seems hard to believe considering the number of coupons that I currently have and receive regularly that I would actually make purchases from those stores.

Prudent choices when shopping and budgeting before going Christmas shopping makes a big difference especially when paying cash. For people who are really sticking to a budget making the decision to buy one item whether it is the “hot” gift of the season or not will make a greater difference to individuals but to retailers it might. To really stick to a shopping budget giving someone a gift card or cash will help a person not go over budget. Unless you can find a particular item that you know the recipient will love for less than you have budgeted… move on until you find something they will really enjoy and use.

Starbucks is discontinuing its Gold Card program which offered a 10% discount for an annual fee of $25.

I do go to Starbucks but my local coffee house which roasts their own beans and is independently owned. When you buy a pound of coffee you get a free cup of drip coffee free. When you buy loose tea, you get a free cup of tea. If you don’t want the coffee, you can get the discount instead. Recently I went to Starbucks and used a gift card for my purchase and discovered that my local coffeehouse had spoiled me for better coffee.

Some people liked the discount but didn’t want to spend $25 to get the perks. Starbucks isn’t the only retailer that offers a paid membership discount program. Even if you go to a place once or twice a year and purchase the membership you can reap big benefits.

Paying to get discounts can actually work in your favor. I purchased a membership card for a store for $10 and have definitely received more than my $10 worth from the card. The free item that I received for my birthday and the discounts that I received for Christmas presents have definitely exceeded the $10 I paid. If the card cost more, I am not so sure that I would have purchased the membership if the discount I earned wouldn’t have been greater than the cost of the membership and offered free items.

People who reaped the benefits from the program and were frequent patrons of Starbucks might definitely be dismayed at the change in the program. The benefits might not be as great but there might be more participants if the program becomes free.

Thanks again, Fed, for not raising the interest rate again. The low interest rates are not making it attractive to save money in a bank. The rate has stayed in the same range for about three quarters. Low interest rates are fine if you are paying interest, but not so great if you want to earn some.