It's already November 2nd and not too early to plan for your holiday shopping.  Here's some information to get "your ducks in order."

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Flickr / Basecampbaker 1154[/caption]First and I think it's most important to consider small business Saturday.  This always falls on the Saturday following Thanksgiving.  This year it's November 30th.

Small business Saturday is great for a couple of reasons.

There are many wonderful downtown shopping districts, here, in New Jersey.

Small "mom and pop" stores almost always have unique items that you'll never find on- line or at the large chain stores.

Will you find good deals?  In most cases, absolutely.

And it's a big boost to our local economy.

Now, let's backtrack one day to "black Friday."  You probably know this day falls on the day after Thanksgiving.  This year it's November 29th.  More and more retailers will open their doors Thanksgiving night and this year will be no exception.

Right now, here's what you should do.  For specific items you'll be looking for, jot down the current price and compare it to the "black Friday" price.

On some items you'll find great deals, others, not so much.

If you dare to wait until the week before Christmas you will get many deep discounted deals.  Retailers want to unload their inventories before Christmas.  The downside is that particular popular items may be sold out.

And of course there's "cyber Monday."  "Cyber Monday" falls on the Monday following Thanksgiving.  This year it's December 2nd.

This on-line purchase day has become one of the biggest shopping days of the year.  In 2012 e-commerce sales reached a whopping 289 billion dollars.

"Cyber Monday" has a couple of advantages.

You can do your shopping without fighting crowds and waiting on long lines in the comfort of your home in your PJ's and fuzzy slippers.

When ordering on-line, in most cases, there's no sales tax.  This can be a considerable saving on high ticket items.

So, the bottom line is...plan and do your pricing homework.

I wish you the best of luck in finding great deals and stress free holiday shopping!

 

 

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