Gift Stash How To

Before I give you the skinny on creating a gift stash, let me begin by saying 2 things:  1) I am going to break this down & give you a couple of examples at a time and 2) when you're building a gift stash, in no way do I think you should put a bunch of junk in it that no one would want.

Paying attention to sales, both in stores and online, will allow you to create a stockpile on the cheap. If you remember from last time, I said it's the thought, not how much you spent that matters to most people. Does it matter that at one time the gift you're choosing had a more expensive price tag on it, but now you're snagging it for much less? I surely hope not. The value of the item hasn't diminished simply because you're not paying full retail price. Now for examples of ways to stock up on cheap gifts. Wait, Financial Guy would want me to say 'inexpensive'. Call it what you will, honey. I'm cheap... meaning thrifty shopper. :)

The most obvious way to build a gift stash: Shop at the end of a season or holiday. After every holiday (and sometimes even a few days before), most stores throw everything they have left on clearance for 50-75% off. Major retailers are really good at this, but grocery stores are also pretty quick to jump on the bandwagon. The thing is, there's no telling how long the merchandise will still be available at those prices. If you think ahead you can pick up items for next year's holiday at a fraction of the cost. Did I mention that you can often pick up some pretty sweet gifts for kids and adults from these sales and it won't always have a bunny, leprechaun, turkey, or heart on it just because it's in the 'holiday' section?

Quite often, Coupons.com will have deals on their site for popular toys and games. Last year, they had a great coupon for card games like Scrabble Slam. You know, the Easter Bunny must've seen that coupon too, because it ended up in my kid's basket and probably only cost that savvy rabbit about a dollar-- just a guess though.

The Disney Store has been a great place to find items on clearance that most kids really like. They often run $5 sales on t-shirts, PJs, and stuffed animals. Lately though, I've even seen some pretty cute shirts and PJs popping up at my local Walmart with all the popular cartoon things on them, not just Disney. Shopping at the end of the season can snag you some great PJ sets for less than they should have cost, just remember to size up.

I love me some Disney, but pardon me for refusing to pay $10 for a lunchbox or $20 for a backpack (I know, how can my kids go to survive without them). Around mid-October, when they're itching to put out all their Christmas stuff, I have often found lunchboxes marked down to $0.99. One year, the girl behind the counter probably thought I was nuts, because I bought 10. I would've bought more, but I had the twins and the Sisternator with me, in the stroller. You get funny looks when you make pre-school kids drag heavy bags behind them, when you're shopping... Needless to say, we had birthday gifts forever! When those invitations started rolling in, we'd grab a lunchbox from the stash. The recipient loved it and I felt great knowing that even though it was worth a lot more originally, I had snagged it for a steal.

Start out slow, when building your gift stash. You don't need to go all hog-wild. Slowly build to get good deals and keep looking everywhere you go. You never know where a great deal will pop up, just be ready to snag that puppy! More tips next time. Happy shopping, peeps!