During the holiday season the day I stop shopping is the day when all the gifts I planned to buy have been purchased.  That's it, I'm done.  Making up your mind to NOT shop is one way to combat the need to buy something when it is at a deep discount.  If you don't deliberately stop shopping, then all kinds of extra gifts can creep in and blow the budget.  I know I have done this and what I discovered is that once the holidays pass, the good feelings that come with sticking to a set number and dollar limit on gifts last and build confidence going into the New Year.  Starting off the New Year with your finances in good shape frees you to focus on other meaningful goals.

 

Another way to combat the "But, I've got a coupon" syndrome is to realize that there will always be coupons, so holding off on buying can work in your favor.  For example, this holiday season I saw a beautiful new coat and while I have a coat, I could use a new one.  This coat I liked was a bit out of my price range, so I left it on the rack.  Then it was marked down by $30 the next week and now seemed like it was a good time to buy, but I held off.  Then I received a 30% off your purchase online coupon to the store and now the coat was within a reasonable price range.  So, I printed the coupon and walked it into the store (you can do this at most stores).  They honored it and I got the coat I liked at the a great price.  The catch here is - then a 50% off your purchase coupon came out the next day and if I had waited a bit, I would have received even bigger savings.  If i have the energy, I might go back and see if they will honor it since i saved my receipt! 

 

My point is coupons are plentiful these days and when you apply discipline in waiting to purchase something, you usually wind up with a better price or save yourself the pain of an impulse purchase.