bargains posts

When shopping for holiday gifts isn't it tempting to want to buy a few things for yourself?

Well my advice - stop it! Buy the gifts, get the necessities for parties and dinners and put away a few pennies for January.

When everyone else is recovering from the busy holiday period, January is a great time to shop - not just for holiday decorations for the next year, but for a myriad of items.

So what to look for after Boxing Day? Here's a list of items that will be a better bargain in January.

By Barbara Thau
Daily Finance

Ah, Labour Day is upon us: One the one hand, it means a three-day weekend to savor, on the other, a melancholy marker of summer's end.

And either way you look at it, you might be planning to chase away those no-more-lazy-days blues with some retail therapy.

If so, here's a rundown of some of the best deals to be had during this holiday weekend, as well as some clever shopping tips, from the savings gurus at FatWallet.com, ShopItToMe.com, BradsDeals.com and DealDecor.com.

There are some things in life that take priority such as grocery shopping. Whether you like it or not for most people it's a basic weekly responsibility.

I for one don't mind grocery shopping by myself but when I've got my two sons under four with me it's usually a bit of a circus show. I end up losing my scribbled To-Buy list within about ten minutes of pushing the cart around, meaning multiple trips to the grocery store, time wasted and frustrations high. Enter the world of apps, where there are now tools available to help you organize your life and save money without the fuss and... paper. These free apps are quite basic, but really who needs something with a lot of bells and whistles when it comes to a to-do list or a financial summary?

Here are five free apps that will save you time and money when it comes to organizing your finances and your life.

After the spending frenzy in December, and seeing the bills in January, many of us want to avoid shopping. We're not eager to take the credit card out of the wallet.

But dear consumers, you should be shopping in January - if you have some money tucked away, there are bargains to be had - whether it's small ticket or big ticket, there are several items that purchased now will save money later.

And you won't be fighting crowds to find the deal.

So what's on the shopping list? For the spontaneous shopper, the list will be items that won't cause any spending stress are good for those who are planning for next year's holiday season.

By Zac Bissonette

If the recession has you jobless, overextended, or just plain broke, selling old stuff on eBay can be a fantastic way to raise quick cash.

If you're willing to take it a step further, developing expertise in a specialized area -- e.g. books, old video games, dolls, etc. -- can develop into a fantastic supplementary source of income that doesn't depend on the viability of your employer. All you have to do is figure out what sells on eBay, and buy it for less money at flea markets, thrift shops, yard sales, and auctions.

But in order to make money, you have to buy stuff cheap. With yard sale and flea market season coming to an end in many regions, that pretty much leaves auctions as the primary source of merchandise. But which auction? Here's my advice: the crappiest, least organized one you can find.

Walletpop expert Julia Scott says that if you have been caught 'out in the cold' without gifts, it still isn't too late to make your mark under the tree.

Scott says if all else fails, there are a lot of things you can pick up at the drug store, from makeup to fuzzy socks, gloves, and beef jerky.

"Just make sure you avoid buying things like lipstick for people unless you really know their style," says Scott.

Julia Scott of Bargainbabe.com says when it comes to finding the best prices, sometimes knowing what to say is as important as knowing where to shop.

"I've negotiated deals on so many things, T-shirts, hotel rooms, just by asking" says Scott. "Merchants need to be persuaded to give you a discount, so look for reasons why they might be sympathetic."

Being a long time customer, being able to pay in cash, or knowing if the item is out or about to go out of season are very good negotiating points.

Spendthrift (noun): A person who spends improvidently or wastefully. (Merriam-Webster)

Now that we have that understanding down, let me tell you a little story about our new rocking chair.

Once upon a time, not long ago, this writer and her husband were driving down the street when we happened upon a glider rocking chair at the side of the road.

"What luck," we thought, for earlier that week we'd been thinking of ways to procure just such an item without shelling out the full retail price for one.

I've bought many things over the internet and have always been satisfied with the result. Cameras, laptops, books, perfume, furniture, you name it, I've found it cheaper somewhere on the internet. Not only do customer reviews help us decide what to buy and who to buy it from but we also save lots of time by removing the need to spend a day -- or days -- driving around to numerous stores to check their goods.

So it's no surprise that more and more Canadian parents are turning to the internet this summer to prepare to send the kiddies back to school. A July survey by Visa Canada found that the number of people expecting to shop online this back-to-school shopping season is up by 7%. The survey also showed that shoppers plan to spend an average $621 between July and Labour Day, with men on average likely to spend a little more than the women. One can only guess that this is because men, generally, like to spend less time shopping in stores.

I'm always looking for the best deal when I want to travel - who isn't? I check newspaper ads, read airline web sites and ask friends for recommendations. But when I do find something, I'm always hesitant to make the decision.

I worry that there may be another bargain lurking around the corner. How to know if the bargain is really a bargain? According to Lara Barlow of TravelZoo Canada, there are several things to consider before deciding which is the best.

TravelZoo Canada posts a weekly top 20 list of the best travel deals to be found online for Canadians every week for subscribers and their site is constantly scouring the web for the best deals.