Disclaimer – This is a sponsored post brought to you by RetailMeNot.  All opinions are 100% my own. 

Christmas time is here and I am armed and ready to shop, wrap and give the best gifts to others this holiday season.  I want to be the best gift giver every Christmas and give the gift that make my friends and family cry.  Seriously.  I want them to ugly cry because they love their gift so much.  The thing is….we all have budgets and limits, so I can’t afford giving away new cars or houses or even that yacht that Dad would love.  BUT I can give gifts that induce squeals, jumping up and down and at least one enthusiastic wolf cry. So that is why today, I am sharing a few quick tips on giving the best gifts while saving big this holiday season.  Bookmark this post because saving isn’t just a holiday event….you can work these tips all year long.

1. MAKE A LIST AND KEEP IT ALL YEAR LONG

Making a list is a very important step in giving a great gift.  It can be on paper, on your phone, or even by taking pictures of things your kids want.  We actually find that lists for little ones change very quickly and they are really forgetful so keeping up with it is really important!  When my kiddos want something in the store, I take their picture with it.  I make sure their face is in the photo and my phone automatically sorts their pictures by face so I can easily see what they have requested if I feel stumped.  I also put down interests of friends and family if I don’t know exactly what they are interested in.

2.  PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS

Some folks out there are name brand fanatics….they want the name brand items.  Jeremy is one of them.  He literally remembers the names of shoes….like not just sneakers….but “Nike Mike Trout’s”.  And it blows my mind.  My brother is also one of them….growing up, he called the non-name brand shoes that he had Bo-Bo’s.  Everyone else had Nikes, he had Bo-bo’s.  The difference here is that some folks want the newest and very specific items.  Some folks want just the name brand.  And some folks don’t really care what the brand is as long as they got shoes.  It’s good to know the difference and put that detail onto your list before shopping.  Because a good deal is only a good gift if the recipient likes it!   This concept applies to all the things your friends and family do.  Pay attention to the things they pick up at stores.  Watch if they linger a little longer at certain items.  Listen to what they mention they ‘love’ or ‘need’ or ‘want’ at dinner.  If you buy the RIGHT gift, no matter how big or small, it saves you moolah because the wrong gift is a TOTAL waste of money.  Keep that in mind.

3.  CHECK RetailMeNot WEBSITE EVERY DAY

My secret weapon for saving every day is RetailMeNot website and I check it everyday.  This might sound tedious but it takes me only ten seconds.  TEN SECONDS.  I’m not kidding.  This simple ten second task can save you TONS all season long.  All you have to do is add RetailMeNot website to your favorites bar on your computer and then after checking your email (which we all do everyday) you see the newest and best deals.  The very first page gives you the best deals of the day and because you made that list of gifts for friends and family, you just connect the dots.  Macy’s on sale?  Macy’s has perfume and mom loves perfume!  Cabela’s just released a discount code?  Cabela’s has warm coats and your brother needs a warm coat for skiing!  Petsmart just put all their dog beds on sale….and you know who needs one of those!  My favorites to look out for are Macy’s, Kohl’s, and World Market because their coupon codes are always changing and it’s hard to keep up with.  This is one stop to compare all the codes.

The other way to tackle the Retailmenot sales is by searching by retailer.  Let’s just say that you are hosting Christmas this year and need more of your favorite World Market dishes.  Go to RetailMeNot first before heading over to the World Market website….there might be a discount code, a sale OR you can get a cash back reward just by shopping through their link.  It’s one click….it’s really that easy.  And you can get back up to $30!!!!  (and yes, if you follow me on Instastories – this is how I find all those deals that I share!)

4.  SPEND MORE TIME WTIH LOVED ONES 

Spending less time in the car is a huge way to save money – pocket that gas money!  Instead use RetailMeNot to search for free shipping options.  I tend to have this disease where I literally do not have a concept of time.  And I could spend all day in the car and when I realize how much time I wasted or how far I have driven, it boggles my brain.  I wasted all that time!  All that gas money!  And I could have just had it shipped.  So now I save those hours and use them by being with the kids or Jeremy or my family and friends instead.  Because some gifts are not ones you can buy….sometimes you show up with a bunch of cookies and the time together is the real gift.

5.  JOIN THE CLUB

Clubs and mailing lists are the easiest and least offensive way to score MAJOR discounts.  Here is my recipe for major savings….

• Join RetailMeNot subscription list
• They email me daily the best deals
• Click on desired deal (make sure to click on the cash back option and get the retailers code!)
• Buy goodies at a fraction of the price
• Celebrate with my own wolf pack cry and maybe some new shoes!
• Spend the saved time with my family
• Wait for mailman with a cold coke in hand

And then I just watch my cash come back to me and feel like I conquered the world.

  

6.  ENTER GIVEAWAYS

Tis the season for giving and retailers know it!  They love spreading the Christmas cheer just as much as you do so remember to enter any and all giveaways.  It will give you all the feels if you win.  Seriously.  All of them.  Even if you don’t love the prize for yourself, you could win and gift it to a loved one or a charity of your choice.  And speaking of giveaways……..

 

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!

 

Here’s how to enter this giveaway with RetailMeNot!!!!!

• PRIZE: (1) $200 VISA gift card courtesy of RetailMeNot
• NUMBER OF WINNERS : (1) ONE
• TO ENTER :  Go check out the deals they have going right now.  Come back and comment on this blog post with the name of your favorite holiday deal – the one that gets rid of all the scrooge! Then subscribe to RetailMeNot (CLICK HERE) and they will send you the BEST deals everyday.
• PRIZE SHIPS :  Continental U.S.
• NITTY GRITTY :  This giveaway closes on Friday, December 22nd at 11:59pm EDT.  Only one contest entry per email address.  The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be announced in an update to this post the following Friday morning. We will email the winner directly, so please make sure you use your regularly checked email address.