Save while you shop at a dial’s notice

Shop till you drop this Christmas. But you won’t drop because your cards are maxed out, thanks to your mobile phone.

During the holidays, retail stores and even online shops have been dropping discounts as frequent as we change channels on tv. As I have observed, most retail shops launch grand sales either at the middle or end of the week, specifically Wednesday. Why this fateful day? This is owing to their tradition of assesing their sales over the weekend on Mondays, then planning proceeds on a Tuesday.

So, we now know WHEN to shop. Next thing to ponder on is how to shop all the things you need but still have something left for other expenses, like for next two weeks’ shopping spree.

Th e answer to this eternal question; put out your mobile phone.

If you’re like me, who hops from one shop to another before buying, then this money saving tip is a big relief. We can check out the item’s price in another store by dialing 888-DO-FRUCALL on our mobile phones. Hard to swallow, right? Well, that was my initial reaction as well. But aftert actually dialing it, I realized this is a life-saver. What the FRUCALL does is they look up the price of the product in other stores. Take note, this requires no membership or monthly fees. Of course you’ll be charged with the standard outgoing call rates by your mobile phone provider. But other than that, shopping is actually a phone call away.

Certainly, you’ll be punching in some details of the product for FRUCALL to effectively give you the most accurate price tags. You have to enter the following:

• name of the product
• 12-digit bar or UPC code of the product

This service will not only save us time to look around and check if some store offers a lower price for our must-have items but will give us more free period to browse on other products. Thus not taking away the therapeutic effects of shopping.

Glam up your home this Christmas at no costs

No matter how tight our budget maybe this holidays, I know we allot a percentage of our money to buying decorations. I, for myself feel that decorating during this time of the year lightens up my mood. Odd as it seems, I still feel glowing even though I went over my budget for decors. But this year, I have made a pact with myself to make sure that I stay within my spending boundaries but my home still radiating.

I have come up with a few ways on how to give my flat a festive vibe while not stressing that I have went over board when it comes to my budget. Like to share them with you:

1. Decide a theme. Choosing one theme makes it easier for us to make a list of what are the trinkets that we will be buying. Like if we want a white mood, then our trip to the store less stressful.
2. Make use of your natural surroundings. Take a walk and scout for twigs and pinecones. Go green as much as you can.
3. Go to sales or discount stores. Never understimate discount stores. They have fabulous products at very affordable prices.
4. Buy a day after the big day. Perks during the day after Christmas? For one, the prices are usually after the price and people traffic is almost non-existent.
5. Place a wreath as your centerpiece. It’s table life will last from Thanksgiving till Christmas or even New Year.

Decorating during the holidays is virtually part of our system. I have followed the first two ways above. It doesn’t matter really how expensive or how cheap our decorations are. But it would be a great relief if we go to sleep knowing how our friends will be awed when they see our decorations and we still have extra budget to serve them mac and cheese.