How to last longer
Here are some tips to make the most of your after the holidays clearance shopping:
Take an Inventory
The most tempting thing with after holiday clearances are to stock up on a lot of items you don't need. Therefore, it is important to take an inventory of what you need before you shop.
Determine what May be On Sale
After Christmas, you are going to find gift baskets, toys, ribbons, and many Christmas extras on clearance. After Valentines Day there will be a lot of chocolate. After Easter, you will find lots of candy on clearance. After summer, you will find lots of fans on clearance. After Thanksgiving you may find a lot of fall decorations on clearance. Knowing the types of things that will be on sale will help you determine what you may need to buy.
Stock up for the Coming Year
If you have extra space, consider stocking up for the upcoming holidays. You will save a lot of money in the upcoming years. You can stock up on items like gift wrap, tags, bows and Christmas decorations for Christmas. When we needed our Christmas tree, I told my husband we needed to buy it after Christmas. I didn't mind putting it up after Christmas, but I didn't want to pay full price. So we waited until the Christmas trees went on clearance at 90 % off.
Discounts
Watch the Discounts. Usually clearances will start at 50% off, then they will drop to 75% off and then 90% off. You will likely find the best items at the higher rate. So you will find the items that are the most useful, practical and less seasonal at the 50% off price. At 75 % off, the items will still be good but more picked over. At 90% off, the items will be the most picked over. However some items like Christmas trees, lights, and candy canes you are likely to find at the 90% off rate because they are only useful once a year. If you watch the clearances, you will get a good idea of what types of items will drop way down and there will still be plenty of leftover. The reason for this is because the same types of items tend to last longer each and every year. The American consumer can be predictable.
Shop Around
Some stores offer better clearance prices than others, so shop around at various stores to get the best price cuts. If you know which stores offer the best clearance prices, you will know where to shop.
Buy for a Reason
For instance our family does a gift bag exchange every year in the middle of January. Therefore many people in our family like to shop the after Christmas sales to get great gifts for the gift bag. However, in our case we like to include items people can use all season round, so we have to be choosy about the items we buy on Christmas clearance. In January, it is not as much fun to get an ornament for the Christmas tree that has already been packed away in the box. However, the gift sets are often on clearance, so we will buy candle gift sets, bath gift sets, and other items to include in the gift bags. However for items that can be used year round, I often shop the first clearance cut (usually 50 or 75% off), because if I wait until the price drops, the only items I will find are the seasonal ones and these are less useful to the receiver of the gift bags.