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.

24¢

That’s the price I paid for six boxes of True Lemon and True Orange packets. I had three coupons good for one box of any True Lemon product up to $3.99. Since it was only available at certain stores, I went to one of the stores and there was a buy one get one free sale with the store card. I was “purchasing” three and getting three free, which was a savings of $10.47. I was just planning on getting three boxes but since there was a sale, I wasn’t going to leave my free items behind. I could have used the coupons for the lemonade drink mix which only has 8 packets in a box, but they weren’t buy one get one free.

Also, I had an old coupon in my wallet from a body products store. I thought that since it was over a year old that I wouldn’t be able to use it. I asked before I made my selections and I was told as long as the numbers are legible then I can use the coupon. The coupon was for $10 off a purchase of $30 or more and was my reward for completing a telephone survey. The $10 coupon was a better deal than using the coupon for a purse size bottle of free hand sanitizer with any purchase. The hand sanitizer coupon was only worth $1.50. As part of my savings I bought sale items and used a gift card to stretch the savings.

Finally, I received a coupon with my receipt from a drugstore for $5 off any Bic writing product. I generally don’t buy office supplies from a drugstore, but I choose a pair of mechanical pencils with refills of erasers and lead for $4.99 to maximize the coupon.

Coupons can save you money on items you really want and need. Sometimes it takes a little work and occasionally a little luck, but you can save big with them.