Having a Merry Christmas doesn’t mean you have to go broke. When shopping for those last minute items to add just one more thing to a loved one’s stocking – remember that the small items can do the greatest damage to a holiday shopping budget. If you bought one extra item priced at $4, not including tax for 10 people on your list that’s equivalent to the price of a gift for a person (or two). Keeping track of what you spent, even if you go over for one person or way under for another person can help keep your spending in check.

Not done with your shopping?  Stay focused and keep the goal in mind. Last minute shopping, brings about anxiety and will make you buy things for people that they not actually like but you just buy something to give the person a gift. Have a couple of options in mind if your gift of choice is sold out.

Merry Christmas!

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.

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.

Cash is coming back in style. This isn’t popular with some retailers just as Christmas is around the corner. Since more people are afraid of incurring more credit card debt people are looking to pay for things in cash. That is great but if you have a credit card and choose to use it wisely that isn’t a problem. 

Using cash isn’t the only thing that is troubling for retailers since the holidays are coming up… people are planning to spend less than they did last year on gifts.

Both of these things can be really great for us as consumers because this will mean that retailers will be pulling out more stops than they did last year to encourage people to buy. This means that more free shipping deals will abound (if you haven’t seen any already) and discount coupons will be available in stores.

As I’ve said before using a credit card isn’t bad, if you can pay off the balance.

Before spending, make a budget for holiday spending or if you have a large family try to see if you can set a spending limit or participate in a gift exchange with one family member. For those with children, nieces, nephews, etc. you may have more difficulty buying just one gift but you could also find out what is one item that the child really wants.

Holiday shopping shouldn’t be comprised of impulse buys. Christmas and Hanukkah come every year. This should not be a surprise that people have to scramble to buy gifts or to make preparations. If you have to go into debt to buy gifts, then you shouldn’t. If you have the makings of a gift at home then do that but spending because you want to give a gift you can’t really afford, makes no sense. 

Start putting those dollar bills aside now to help ease the burden of gift shopping. Even if you are making tins of cookies for people, or other homemade goodies, you need to make sure that you have enough materials. Better late than never to start preparing for Christmas.