How We Save For After Christmas Sales
Have you ever noticed how after Christmas sales are as low as 75% off the regular price?
It makes you wonder how much the store paid for the products in the first place.
Often you’ll find after Christmas sales up to 75% off the sale price, which is crazy.
What should you buy after Christmas sales? That’s only a question you can answer.
Today, I want to talk about the allure of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and after-Christmas sales, including Boxing Day.
Christmas Presents Aren’t The Reason For The Season
However, you may also find that you spend money you don’t have on after Christmas sales.
This type of shopping ends up putting people over the edge and into debt.
I know a family who celebrates Christmas on December 25th but opens no gifts.
They celebrate the life of Jesus, who was born on Christmas day and ate a big feast.
Are they being smart with their money?
Often I would say so, but so are those of you who buy Christmas gifts throughout the year.
After Christmas Sales Marketing
There are so many marketing outlets for entrepreneurs and stores to get there after Christmas. Sales message across to Canadians.
Just have a look below, and count how many of the ways you can recall the types of marketing.
The power of marketing to your mind and wallet is strong, and even harder to say no.
We’re not the best at it, but we work hard to think about a purchase before making it.
Often it ends up in our miscellaneous budget category because it doesn’t have a home in our budget.
Both Mrs. CBB and I have thought about saving for after Christmas sales, and in 2022 we will.
- Online Sales
- Contests
- Pop-up After Christmas Sales
- Print Media Flyers, Magazines, Door Hangers, junk mail deals
- Radio Marketing After Christmas Sales
- Door Crashers
- Online Crashers
- Extended Deals from Black Friday and Cyber Monday
- Deepest Discounts Ever
- Curbside Pickup
- Free or discounted Delivery
- Text Message Marketing
My personal and business inbox fills up daily with bloggers trying to sell their “professional” courses or stores pushing and pulling at your wallet.
Weirdly enough, it has been text message marketing that has caught our attention from Shoppers Drug Mart.
We only shop the sales, and this is how we’ve grown our 6 million dollar Shoppers Optimum Points rewards card.
For all of you concerned about us not using the points, we did buy a new XBOX for our son for Christmas.
It cost us $61 after using the PC Optimum Points and is still one of the most lucrative rewards programs around.
Related: How to earn PC Optimum Points Fast
I guess you could say that our PC rewards are a way to get bargains on after-Christmas sales.
Online After Sales Shopping Deals
The big perk for stores with Christmas after sales is a curbside pickup, price point and efficiency.
Another popular marketing ploy that gets heads spinning is the timeline.
If you order something today, how long does it take to arrive?
Is the deal a deal after Christmas, or does another store offer a better online deal?
We have shopped online for Christmas after sales at clothing stores such as Sport Chek for our son.
He grows like a weed, and it’s hard to find pants, joggers or shorts at second-hand shops.
On occasion, we get lucky, but we plan for clothing sizes.
These days the second-hand shop prices have skyrocketed where we can find new for less.
It’s about being picky about what you are buying in the shops and keeping a thrifty mindset.
For example, we purchased Adidas shorts from Sport Chek online after Christmas sales events.
We used our Canadian Tire Triangle Mastercard for rewards points, plus up to 2.0% cashback with Rakuten.
If you sign-up for Rakuten, you’ll see the above photo pop-up on the side of your screen if there’s a cash back discount for your order.
Black Friday Rush For Deals
You’re not going to get me out of the house for Black Friday Christmas shopping even if the price is right.
If it’s a gift that I am looking to purchase, I’ll look for it online and see if I can pick it up or have it delivered.
Almost every business has Black Friday deals online, and shopping from home in my pj’s with a coffee suits me.
Often, when I go into a store, as mentioned above, the marketing is far greater than online shopping.
Cyber Monday Madness
Cyber Monday madness is just another name for Black Friday or before Christmas sales.
We made the big mistake of going to Costco yesterday on Cyber Monday.
It was beyond busy, and the wait times were long, but at least we won’t be going back for a while.
Businesses will come at customers from every angle to get their money and attention.
I admit to buying gifts online only when they are 50% off or more.
There’s often a sales category or discount area where I find items with deeper discounts.
Christmas Shopping Without A Plan
Where this type of shopping becomes, a problem is when you don’t have a shopping plan.
There’s no way you can or should be shopping without a Christmas budget and plan.
All you are doing is setting yourself up for debt on your credit card or adding to your line of credit.
During the Christmas season, it’s easy for Canadians to dig into their pockets, savings or money sources to see someone smile.
People panic and the bills start coming in from all the hyped-up holiday shopping.
Christmas is not about going into debt to see someone smile; it’s about being with your family.
Is Cyber Monday deals worth it? Yes, if you compare prices and you NEED the item, not WANT it, and you’ve saved for it.
At Canadian Tire, the after Christmas sales are remarkable online and in-store and tempted to look.
Ok, I look online, and I’ve found awesome deals with free delivery or pickup. Plus, I used my Canadian Tire Mastercard and Rakuten for Triangle points.
Using Your Debit Card For After Christmas Sales
If you don’t have a credit card for rewards, you can also sign up for a Simplii Debit Card.
We have this to access cash, and where we have several banks accounts for projected expenses.
For example, if you found a lawnmower on sale that you’ve saved up for all year in your projected expenses account, use the debit card to pay for it.
That way, the money comes right from the source, and you won’t have to do money swapping as we do.
It’s the easier way to save money and make sure you use what you’ve saved on the items you projected purchasing.
Budgeting For After Christmas Sales
If you look at our monthly budget, you’ll notice that we save monthly for Christmas gifts.
But is the amount we are saving enough for after Christmas Sales?
Not at all because we do shop for deals when all the hoopla is over and done.
The catch is only buying what you need; for example, you’re doing renovations and need tools.
How about you’ve moved into a new house and would love to add home decor to each room.
Earlier this year, I created a projected expenses budget binder printable for this reason.
Now we know that come December when we finalize our 2022 monthly budget to consider after Christmas Sales.
Not a year goes by that we learn something about how we save and spend money.
Using a budget and budget binder printables undoubtedly helped us pay off this house and pay off debt.
Can You Afford After Christmas Sales?
Those who don’t want to budget extra money monthly or can’t afford to might want to refrain from shopping.
On Friday last week, Mrs. CBB confessed that she was shopping online for 50% off for Black Friday Deals.
Most of her favourite online clothing stores also offer additional cash savings because we use Rakuten.
If you’re not familiar with Rakuten, add it to your mobile phone, laptop, or other devices.
When you shop, online the Rakuten pop-up (see photo below) will let you know that if you purchase something, there are additional savings.
For example, Canadian Tire, Old Navy, Eddie Bauer, Levis, Micheals, TSC, Staples, Indigo, and many other Canadian stores offer cash discounts with Rakuten.
Currently, Rakuten has a Holiday Savings tab Hot Deals and 3x the money back in cash.
Be savvy with your money and save where you can, especially if there’s free delivery.
Many of our friends choose online Christmas shopping with the pandemic, so why not save more money?
Our son, who has ASD1, doesn’t like being around crowds, so we do our best to avoid shopping malls.
We get a cheque from Rakuten about four times a year, which is cash-back from online shopping.
How To Save For After Christmas Sales
After Christmas, sales allowed us to purchase our outdoor Christmas lights along with the giant lit wreathe and home decor.
It’s mind-blowing how deep discounts drive traffic into a store or online, but the deals are fist clenching.
That’s the way we felt getting our outdoor Christmas decor at 75% off years ago.
We still go shopping at Value Village, Thrift Store and Goodwill to look at the Christmas decor.
It’s almost as if it’s calling our name, and after Christmas, sales again make it easier to spend.
The obvious way to save money is to avoid any after Christmas sales shopping.
Here’s where it gets tricky because when you know you can save money now for the next holiday, it’s a no-brainer.
For example, Every year, we buy an engraved Christmas ornament for our son, but they go on sale after Christmas.
Why not buy two at the sale price, and you have one for the following year ready to go.
That does seem logical, and I know many of you shop throughout the year, so you don’t have a massive money dump in December.
Shop Smart And Wait For After Christmas Sales
Our friends I mentioned above shop on Boxing Day for Christmas gifts for the family.
They also consider what they can buy on sale now for the following Christmas.
I don’t think there is a wrong or right way; however, I am serious about staying out of debt.
Even we track and have to make changes to the way we budget after Christmas sales.
That doesn’t mean we open gifts on Boxing Day; it means we Christmas shop with a plan.
After Christmas, sales will likely save you a fortune if you don’t buy into all the marketing.
Quick Review: Saving Money On After Christmas Sales
- Create a Christmas Budget and add it to your budget categories.
- Use Cash Back Rewards Cards Rakuten is our favourite
- Use Projected Expenses or read my blog post about this savings plan and incorporate it into your monthly budget.
- Include After Christmas Sales savings included in your Projected expenses or open a new bank account to save money.
- Shop ONLY for what you will need if it’s a fantastic price
- Stay away from going into debt after Christmas sales if you have no money or are maxed out
- Buy Christmas gifts on Boxing Day instead and open gifts afterwards.
- Use the Scanning Code of Practice always if the store is partnered with this program.
Remember to shop smart and use the cash back online apps, rewards cards and The Scanning Code Of Practice.
Thanks for reading,
Mr. CBB
Discussion: Do you save money for after Christmas sales? If yes, what is your plan?
Please take a few moments below to share your experiences or tips on this topic.
