Watch Out for these Common Holiday Shopping Pitfalls
Podcast Transcription:
Money Talk is a podcast brought to you by PFCU where we will share tips and tricks and talk to the experts on all things finance related. Join us as we cover everything from credit and loans to cyber security and careers. No matter where you are in life, PFCU is here for you.
Hello listeners! Thanks for joining me on this episode. In the last couple of episodes I’ve really focused on fraud and today I want to change gears a little bit and get into some holiday budgeting as well as some common pitfalls or potential problems that people face when it comes to the holidays. And if I’m being honest before I even get started on these, I am completely guilty of a few of these because I think it’s easy to talk about this stuff but it can be hard to put it into practice. Especially during the holidays when it seems like life is busier than ever and we’re constantly bombarded with sales, ads, parties, and in all honesty, the expectations of others whether that’s expectations of traveling, gift giving, holiday parties or having the latest and greatest of something. So I’m here to tell you that I’m not perfect and you don’t have to be either but I think being informed and prepared is the first step to really having your finances where you want them especially during the holidays. Let’s dive in on some common holiday shopping pitfalls.
Holiday shopping pitfall number one and for this one I’m going back to the fraud topic again because this is about phishing emails. These are emails created by fraudsters to look legitimate to get your information. These can look like they’re coming from delivery companies like UPS or FedEx, businesses, coworkers or people that you know. Keep an eye out for anything that maybe you weren’t expecting such as delivery notifications for something that you didn’t buy, look for grammar and spelling mistakes, threats, and any suspicious links. Take the extra minute or two to follow-up with the business or the person that the email appears to be from if you’re unsure.
Next is trying to keep track and remember your purchases and your budget in your head. It can be easy to either forget to buy something or buy way more than you anticipated if you try to just remember everything. I am 100% guilty of this. I usually see something I think my kids will like, buy it and then tuck it away for Christmas and then it’s very likely that I will forget about it. There’s definitely some major improvements that I could make in this area. And even if you’re like me and you like to shop for the holidays that way, kind of slowly, over time and tucking it away until Christmas rolls around, then I would recommend at least making a budget and keeping track of how much you’ve spent as you buy things. So then when you hit that budget amount, you know that you are done shopping.
The next pitfall is spending more to get a discount. These are sales like buy one get one 50% off or buy two get one free. You’re not really saving money if you weren’t going to buy several of something to begin with. And I don’t know about you but I love buy one get one deals and I think they can be really great deals but it can also leave you spending more than you planned or ending up with more than you need. This was one was a big reality check for me because like I said, I get really excited when I see like buy one get one 50% off or buy two get one free. It just sounds like an awesome deal and it might be but if I were to go to the store to buy one pair of shoes and they have a sale like this and then I walk out of the store buying two pairs of shoes and spending more than I planned, I am fooling myself thinking that I just saved money. Just something to keep in mind as you see those deals and those sales start to pop up as the holidays get closer.
Now let’s move on to the next pitfall which is relying credit. This can be a dangerous game if you don’t have a plan to pay it off right away or you’ve simply become dependent on buying everything with your credit card and then unfortunately you’re stuck with that debt long after the holidays are over. Shopping online is safer with a credit card just make sure you have a plan and your prepared to pay that off. And to go along with this pitfall is opening a store credit card just to get a discount. Store cards definitely have their advantages but hastily opening one to get a discount and then maybe forgetting to pay it off or buying way more than you planned because of the discount that you’re getting can leave you unwanted debt and a lot of added interest. I looked up a store credit card recently and the interest rate was up there at like 26% which is really high and then it took me a while to find the interest rate on the website because there were ads in my face about the discounts that you get if you open up a card, the VIP program and free shipping and all of this great stuff that you get with a store credit card which can be really good but you just need to make sure you’re reading that fine print before you do anything.
Next is purchasing online without considering every factor. I love online shopping. It’s convenient, many sites have free shipping now, they have next day or two day delivery and I don’t have to leave my house or change out of my sweatpants. But watch out for any shipping fees especially when you have to spend just a little more to get free shipping, be careful that your total doesn’t creep up past what were you planning on spending. And then be on the lookout for things like restocking fees, delivery times as well as return policies. These are all things to consider when you are online shopping.
And the last pitfall I want to talk about for the holiday season and I think this is one that a lot of us can relate to is trying to keep up with the Joneses. So I’m sure that you have all heard this phrase before. Basically it just means that you want to have everything that people have around you. So you want to buy things that other people have, you want to keep up with the things that others have. For the holidays whether that’s keeping up with the gift giving of others, the expectations of parties or get-togethers, traveling, gift exchanges. Spend your money and your holidays within your budget and where you’re comfortable. Your coworker is not going to pay your credit card bill because you said yes to the gift exchange that didn’t really fit into your budget this year. And I know that can be really hard to do and if you know that you want to make that you participate in everything that you want to participate in this year, then budget for it. Start saving early and plan for those things including the unexpected expenses that might come up. We all have different financial and personal situations and you never really see the full picture of someone else and their finances. Trying to keep up with the Joneses is only going to hurt your budget, your finances and probably really make your holidays stressful than they need to be. Don’t be afraid to get creative with gift giving and try new things to save some money, look for deals and sales and don’t be afraid to simply say no.
Alright, we did it! Those are my common holiday shopping pitfalls that I want you to watch out for this year, be prepared for this year so you can get through your holidays stress free and within your budget. Happy Holidays to all of my wonderful listeners out there!
Money Talk is a podcast brought to you by PFCU. PFCU offers many products and services to fit your needs, from our various loan and account options to our team of financial coaches to help you reach your goals. Make sure to take advantage of the many conveniences PFCU offers such as the mobile app, mobile wallets, bill pay and more. Visit our website at pfcu the number four me dot com to learn more. PFCU is an equal housing lender and is federally insured by the NCUA.