As all of you know, many people travel for the holidays. This is my first year my family and I will be away for Christmas. This year, we are going to enjoy a 1 week cruise to Jamaica, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, and Key West. With vacation, comes endless shopping opportunities! To help everyone traveling for the holidays, here are some shopping while overseas tips!
1) Be Picky: When shopping while you are away, it is important to be a little picky about what you buy. I like to ask the question, "Can I get this in the US?" If I can, I make sure not to buy the item. It is important when buying souvenirs that you get something you like and that you can only get while away. It would be boring to only spend your money on things you can purchase while at home.
2) The Infamous Limit: It is so important to set a spending limit for yourself while on vacation. People tend o get carried away while on vacation and don't keep track of how much they spent. When you go out to shop, bring a set amount of cash that you are allowed to spend for that day!
3) Currency: Make sure you know what currency is accepted at the location you are staying. Equally important tomato sure you know the exchange rates! Something you see may look cheeper, but when the currency exchange is made, you might be a little surprised at how expensive it actually in.
4) Think Holidays: Vacation time is a great time to get gifts for others. You can knock out birthdays and other holidays while on vacation. Everyone loves getting a unique gift from a place they may have never been before. Also, they will be happy you thought of them while you were away. Once again, you kill two birds with one stone.
5) Sapphire and away!: For those of you who travel overseas a lot, I recommend getting a chase sapphire card. The chase sapphire card with a chip allows you to purchase overseas without getting hit with an exchange rate fee. This will allow you to be more flexible and not tack on that extra fee.
Have a Happy Holidays! Happy Shopping Everyone!!
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Monday, December 15, 2014
Don't Over-Spend this Holiday Season
Ah the holidays. The smell of money is in the air. This week, I present to you the best gift of the season: money saving tips!
1) COUPONS: You know those little pieces of paper you get in the mail sometimes from stores and you just happen to toss them...This holiday season USE the coupons! Various stores have been offering great holiday sales this season. Just today, I went to Lord & Taylor in search for a new winter coat (and gifts for others of course), and I came across a 50% off coat sale. Yes readers, 50% off. For a shopaholic like me, this was the jackpot. I remembered I also had a coupon for 25% off sale items. Using my coupon, I only paid $84.55 for a coat that was originally in the hundreds! Help yourself and save those coupons. Believe me you will be saving a lot more green than you think.
2) Be online Savvy: In one of my older posts, I mentioned how Amazon.com often has products for much cheaper than what they might be at the store. This holiday season I advise you to be online say. If you find something you wish to buy for someone, look everywhere and compare prices. The price at the store may not necessarily be the cheapest one out there. Popular places to look are Amazon and Ebay!
3) It's a Wrap: This holiday season I recommend you save that 4$ extra for wrapping at the store and just wrap the presents yourself. I know store wrapped gifts look great, but your family and close friends will not hate you for your poor wrapping skills! That little extra wrapping money you are saving will add up.
4) Be Bulk: For those who like to receive practical gifts such as socks or sponges, buying in bulk for Christmas can help you save. Buying in bulk has many benefits. The cost is often cheaper than buying the item separately, and you have multiple gifts that can go to multiple people. You are able to knock out two birds with one stone. Who doesn't love that during the holidays?
5) The best come small: You know that old saying "The best gifts come in the smallest packages"? Well that saying is so true! We often get caught up in buying that one very expensive thing for our loved one. Instead of spending so much money on just one gift, you should buy smaller less expensive items instead. This will give the illusion that you spent a lot of money, but in reality, you just bought many little things.
Happy Shopping Everyone!!
1) COUPONS: You know those little pieces of paper you get in the mail sometimes from stores and you just happen to toss them...This holiday season USE the coupons! Various stores have been offering great holiday sales this season. Just today, I went to Lord & Taylor in search for a new winter coat (and gifts for others of course), and I came across a 50% off coat sale. Yes readers, 50% off. For a shopaholic like me, this was the jackpot. I remembered I also had a coupon for 25% off sale items. Using my coupon, I only paid $84.55 for a coat that was originally in the hundreds! Help yourself and save those coupons. Believe me you will be saving a lot more green than you think.
2) Be online Savvy: In one of my older posts, I mentioned how Amazon.com often has products for much cheaper than what they might be at the store. This holiday season I advise you to be online say. If you find something you wish to buy for someone, look everywhere and compare prices. The price at the store may not necessarily be the cheapest one out there. Popular places to look are Amazon and Ebay!
3) It's a Wrap: This holiday season I recommend you save that 4$ extra for wrapping at the store and just wrap the presents yourself. I know store wrapped gifts look great, but your family and close friends will not hate you for your poor wrapping skills! That little extra wrapping money you are saving will add up.
4) Be Bulk: For those who like to receive practical gifts such as socks or sponges, buying in bulk for Christmas can help you save. Buying in bulk has many benefits. The cost is often cheaper than buying the item separately, and you have multiple gifts that can go to multiple people. You are able to knock out two birds with one stone. Who doesn't love that during the holidays?
5) The best come small: You know that old saying "The best gifts come in the smallest packages"? Well that saying is so true! We often get caught up in buying that one very expensive thing for our loved one. Instead of spending so much money on just one gift, you should buy smaller less expensive items instead. This will give the illusion that you spent a lot of money, but in reality, you just bought many little things.
Happy Shopping Everyone!!
Sunday, December 7, 2014
What's on Your Christmas List?
Ah Christmas! What an amazing time of the year. The smell of burning fire wood and the sound of swiping credit cards during a purchase. It is also the time of the year when people make a list of all the wonderful and sometimes useless things they want this holiday season.
This year, I have decided that practicality trumps uselessness. As I get ready to go abroad to Wales to study for a semester, I have compiled a well organized list of practical things I would like while I am away. For example, on my list are and I quote, “A LOT of UK electrical adapters”. But of course the shopaholic girly side of me says, “I can’t just have any old adapters...” So yes, on my Christmas list I have specific requests for my adapters. I would like green and pink monogrammed adapters. Got to love the uniqueness of that request.
Also on my Christmas list are giftcards. I personally love gift cards. You can pick out and buy anything you like with a giftcard and it puts a lot less stress on the giver.
One can never have too much personalized stationary. On my list I have various personalized things such as, return address labels, envelope seals, and thank you cards. To me, receiving personalized stationary is amazing. It is something I can use and enjoy using. I will be able to send friends and family postcards from Wales! A great website for personal stationary is personalizationmall.com. I love this site! They are very reasonably priced and they allow you to see your final product before you place your order!
Lastly, on my list I have various pieces of artwork. It an odd thing to put on my list, but nevertheless it is there. I happen to love home decor. I am sure many of you have seen the art pieces I have bought on my Instagram page. I want to bring at least two art pieces to Wales with me so I can feel a little more at home while I am away! Don’t underestimate good decor!
Have a happy list making weekend every!
Instagram: collegeshopaholicgirl
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)