25 SMARTER WAYSTO GET THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS ON A BUDGET

“To provide a program that exceeds our customers’ expectations and maximizes their opportunity for advancement.”

2

November 2015

Copyright © 2015 J.D. Byrider SystemsAll rights reserved

www.jdbyrider.com

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……5Tip #1 – Set a Budget in Advance and Stick to it………………………………………………………………………...5Tip #2 – Prioritize Your Gift List………………………………………………………………………………………………….6Tip #3 – Make Your Own Gifts……………………………………………………………………………………………..…….6Tip #4 – Avoid Impulse Buys…………………………………………………………………………………………………..….7Tip #5 – Start Comparison Shopping Online……………………………………………………………………………….7Tip #6 – Don’t Rely on Credit Cards to Fill in the Gap…………………………………………………………………8Tip #7 – Don’t Get Department Store Credit Cards…………………………………………………………………….8Tip #8 – Buy 1 Gift and Make them Share………………………………………………………………………………….8Tip #9 – Take Advantage of Free Gift Wrap……………………………………….……………………………………….9Tip #10 – Start Early………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………….9Tip #11 – Price Match……………………………………………………………………….……………………………………….9Tip #12 – Forget Black Friday – Cyber Monday! ……………………………….……………………………….…….11Tip #13 – Get Free Shipping………………………………………………………………………………………………….….11Tip #14 – Make Your Own Wrapping Paper………………………………………………………………………….….12Tip #15 – Decorate Your House by Bringing the Outside in………………………………………………..…….13Tip #16 – Buy Store Brand Food………………………………………………………………………………………..…….13Tip #17 – Don’t Buy Things that Don’t Get Eaten………………………………………..…………………….…….13Tip #18 – Use Discounted Gift Cards…………………………………………………………………………..…….…….14Tip #19 – Use Social Media……………………………………………………………………………………………….…….15Tip #20 – Barter via Online Chat……………………………………………………………………………………….…….15Tip #21 – Find Discount Codes………………………………………………………………….………………..…….…….16Tip #22 – Get Cash Back………………………………………………………………………….……………………….….….17Tip #23 – Use Envelopes to Control Your Spending…………………………..……..……………………….…….17Tip #24 – Don’t Buy Anything for Yourself………………………………………………..……..……………….…….18Tip #25 – Leave the Kids at Home…………………………………………………………………………………….…….18Bonus Tip #26 – Start Shopping for Next Year This Year…………………………………………………….……19Bonus Tip #27 – Abandon Your Shopping Cart………………………………………………………………….…….19Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….20

4

Introduction

The holiday season is meant to be a joyful time of year. Family, food, presents, snowball fights – it’s a truly magical time of year.

But for many of us, it’s also a very stressful time of year.

From holiday decorations to travel to food to presents, presents and more presents – how do we afford it all without going broke or into more debt?

For the past 25 years, we have been in the business of helping people who have had credit problems in the past by providing a vehicle financing program to get them on the road and the possibility of improving their credit. We’ve sold more than 1.1 million cars to people with credit challenges by putting a much larger emphasis on budgeting than past credit scores.

Our knowledge of credit and sticking to a strict budget is backed by many years of success in helping others. As the holiday season approaches, we want to share our expertise to help you get through the holidays on a budget.

Here are 25 smart tips you can use right now.

Tip #1 – Set a Budget in Advance and Stick to it

Let’s start with one that seems obvious, but is often oneof the most difficult. First, you need to create your budget. How much can you afford to spend this holidayseason, and how much should you allocate to eachitem?

Start by getting out a pen and paper and writing downhow much money you have right now, and then addany future income between now and the holidays thatyou’ll receive.

Next, let’s subtract all of your bills and responsibilities. The last thing you want to do is budget for a fancy holiday dinner and an ugly holiday sweater and then come up short on your electric bill.

Once you subtract all of your bills and future necessary expenditures (gas for your car, food, etc), you now know where you stand in terms of holiday spending money.

5

Now, you’ll want to categorize your spending needs: food, gifts, decorations, etc. and then prioritize them.

If it were me, I would prioritize things in that order. There’s no sense in budgeting for holiday decorations if you don’t have enough money to cover food or gifts.

Once you decide how much money you can spend on each of your holiday needs, stick to the budget. It’s very easy to go shopping for the items on your list and then throw a few extra items in the cart because it’s on sale, or it looks cool. Stick to your budget and avoid impulse buys at all cost. As you read further, we’ll touch on some ways to help you do just that.

Tip #2 – Prioritize Your Gift List

This is a tough one. It’s the season of giving, so we should give gifts to everyone right? Your parents, your significant other, your children, your children’s teacher, your coworkers, the mailman…

It would be great to get them all a gift, but maybe it’s time to reel back the excitement a bit. I’m not saying don’t be a giving person. I’m just saying you’re not Santa Clause so choose wisely.

Maybe your children and your boss are at the top of your list and who you feel are most deserving of a gift from you this holiday and budget for those gifts accordingly. There may be some people that you can’t afford to buy for this year, and that’s ok. Remember – there’s a fine line between gift-giving and going broke or in debt.

Tip #3 – Make Your Own Gifts

This may still cost a little bit of money, but it’s also a great way to save and add a personal touch to your gift-giving. If you think you can't do this because you aren't very "artsy" or creative, I challenge you to try! Check Pinterest for ideas if you have to. Your personalized gifts will be a big hit!

6

Tip #4 – Avoid Impulse Buys

Just because something is there, it doesn’t mean you need to buy it. Unplanned purchases or impulse buys can quickly set you back when trying to stay inside of a strict holiday spending budget.

Start by making a list. Before you ever step out of the house, write down the items you need. Whether that’s your gift shopping or food for Thanksgiving dinner – write it down and don’t stray.

In fact, eat before you go shopping. This may not help you avoid grabbing the 2-for-1 Anna and Elsa mouse pads that little Suzy who loves Frozen just has to have even though she doesn’t have a computer – but it will help you from giving into your growling stomach and grabbing a few extra treats that you don’t need.

Another thing you can do is set a time limit. When you have a list, you should be able to get in and out of the store in record time. We’re not going browsing – we are shopping with a purpose. Get in, get out!

Tip #5 – Start Comparison Shopping Online

Oh, the beauty of the internet.

When you’re shopping for holiday gifts, every little bit helps – especially on big ticket items. Buying a new iPod for little Ricky? Get online and check Walmart, Best Buy, Target, etc. and see who is offering the best deal right now.

Now, don’t fall into a trap where you are driving all over the state to visit 37 different stores, each of which have something 10 cents cheaper than the next. But if you can narrow down to 3 or 4 stores on your list, you can definitely save a few bucks here and there by researching the best place to buy each item.

7

Tip #6 – Don’t Rely on Credit Cards to Fill in the Gap

Credit cards are tempting. Just swipe the card and worry about it later, right? And if you’re living in the moment, then sure you might be right. But loading up debt on your credit card is going to come back and hurt you come January when those bills show up in the mail.

Or, when a real emergency comes up, you won’t have any credit line left available. Bottom line: budget your income and cash-on-hand; there are plenty of ways to make it work and get through the holiday season without loading up on debt. Keep reading for more holiday money-saving tips.

Tip #7 – Don’t Get Department Store Credit Cards

When you open up a new credit card, many retailers offer you a 10 or 15 percent savings on your first purchase. But that savings will quickly vanish if you don't pay off your credit card balance in full. Some retailers, like Marshall Fields, for instance, will hit their customers with annual percentage rates upward of 20 percent.

If you pay $100 for a blouse and take the 10 percent discount, you would pay $90. However, if you were unable to pay the balance by the due date, you would pay $18.90 in interest, assuming a 21 percent APR, which would completely wipe out your $10 savings. You are now paying $108.90 for the blouse that was originally priced at $100!

Tip #8 – Buy 1 Gift and Make Them Share

This isn’t really as bad as it seems. I’m not saying you should buy 1 toothbrush for your 8 kids and tell them Merry Christmas. But if you have a large family and they share some of the same interests, perhaps one large gift could appease everyone and cost less than buying individual gifts.

For example, you could buy a Nintendo Wii with a few extra controllers and games for around $200. That’s something that the whole family can enjoy and will provide timeless entertainment value for months – and years to come.

That's just one example of many. It’s all about stretching the dollar and if you have a large family, there’s no need to give them all a bunch of toys to fight over. Just let them fight over the one toy {wink}.

8

Tip #9 – Take Advantage of Free Gift Wrap

“Can we wrap that up for you?”

You know it!

Lots of stores offer free gift wrap year-round, and especially during the holidays. Not having to buy gift bags, bows, wrapping paper, etc. is just more money you can re-allocate in your budget for other more important things.

You can usually search online to see if places offer free gift wrap or not. Here’s an article that reviews a few popular stores and lets you know if they offer free gift wrapping or not:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/12/whatever-happened-to-free-holiday-gift-wrapping/index.htm

Tip #10 – Start Early

By the time you’re reading this, it may already be crunch time. But in the future, plan your holiday shopping ahead of time and you’ll save money, and won’t take such a financial hit during the months of November and December.

By planning ahead, you can shop little by little year-round and budget just a small portion of your paychecks throughout the year, rather than trying to squeeze the most out of one or two paychecks at the end of the year.

Take advantage of savings deals that occur during different times of the year and by doing your holiday shopping over the course of 8-12 months, rather than 2-4 weeks, you’ll suffer from far less stress than when you try to rush to get it all done at the last minute.

Tip #11 – Price Match

Price matching is a great way to shop, not just during the holidays, but year-round. But it certainly comes in handy during the holidays.

Many major retailers will match the price of their competitors, as long as it’s obviously the exact same item.

Best Buy, for one, will price match their competitors, including Amazon.com, as will many other retailers. Often, Amazon will have lower prices than their competitors and you can certainly

9

just order from them online, but if you’d rather shop online or want to save on shipping, you can just download the Amazon app on your phone and then show it to the cashier. As long as it’s an Amazon Prime product and is the exact same product as the one you are buying in store, the cashier will drop the price to the Amazon price, no questions asked!

This year, Target decided to get more aggressive and sweeten their price-matching deal. Starting October 1, 2015, purchases on Target.com will now be eligible for price matching with competitors.

They are also expanding the time frame in which customers can take advantage of price matching on a product to 14 days for products bought both in store and online.

It gets even better – Target is expanding the number of online competitors it will price match with from 5 to 29, including Amazon.com, BedBathBeyond.com, Gamestop.com and even Costco.com. This is the first time Target is willing to price match with membership club competitors Sam’s Club and Costco.

To see other stores that price match and to read up a little bit about their policy, check out this article here.

10

Tip #12 – Forget Black Friday – Cyber Monday!

Cyber Monday – the first Monday after Thanksgiving – is gaining tractions over Black Friday for amazing holiday-shopping savings.

Cyber Monday is a relatively new trend. While the first mention of Cyber Monday was by Shop.org in 2005, it’s really become a trend in the past 2-3 years.

So with all the fuss of Cyber Monday and Black Friday, which offers better savings?

According to the data, it all depends on what exactly you’re shopping for.

The deals on Cyber Monday are online-only and generally offered by smaller retailers that cannot compete with the big retailers. Black Friday generally offers better deals on technology, with nearly 85% more data storage deals than Cyber Monday. The past Black Fridays saw far more deals for small appliances, cutlery, and kitchen gadgets on average than Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday is larger for fashion retail. On the past two Cyber Mondays, there were an average of 45% more clothing deals than on Black Friday. There were also 50% more shoe deals on Cyber Monday than on Black Friday. (source)

You don’t necessarily have to choose between cyber-shopping or in-store shopping, but a combination of both will probably allow for the best savings.

That’s why it’s so important to make your list and plan ahead. It may take a little bit more time, but you’ll definitely save some cash.

Tip #13 – Get Free Shipping

So you finally found that awesome blue ray player that your brother Steven has been wanting for a long time and it’s even on clearance for just $59.95. It’s the deal of a life time!

So you add it to your online shopping cart and go to check out and your grand total with shipping is $105.48.

They want $40 to ship it?! That’s almost as much as the product itself!

How many times has this happened to you?

Well… No more!

11

There are tons of retailers that offer free online shipping and as a part of planning ahead, you should identify which ones.

Here’s a great place to start: http://www.freeshippingday.com/

On December 18, 2015 it is free shipping day. So far, 220 merchants are participating including Bass Pro Shops, Dell, Peapod, UGG, and many more.

Many other online retailers will offer free shipping as well. It’s more common with Ground Shipping than it is with next day or rushed shipping, so plan ahead to take advantage of free shipping offers.

If you are a Prime member with Amazon, you obvisouly know you get free shipping on Prime products as well. At $99 per year, it’s a pretty solid investment if you shop online regularly, though I wouldn’t suggest signing up just for your holiday shopping as the cost to sign-up may not be worth the amount saved in shipping costs.

Bottom line – don’t buy online if the shipping costs are outrageous, and certainly don’t wait until last minute when your online option is to pay a substantial amount more for rushed shipping.

Tip #14 – Make Your Own Wrapping Paper

Don’t skip over this one because you’re thinking, “there’s no way I can make my own wrapping paper.”

But yes you can.

I don’t mean literally to go chop down a tree and manufacture wrapping paper. But I’m sure you have old newspapers or magazines laying around that make for great wrapping paper!

Do you have kids? Children’s artwork is awesome wrapping paper, especially for family members!

Coloring gives the kids a fun activity and can then turn into one-of-a-kind wrapping paper that people will love.

If you’re worried about using newspaper to wrap the presents, just think about this – When was the last time you received a gift and cared what is was wrapped in? You just wanted the present inside, right?

Save a few bucks and make your own wrapping paper!

12

Tip #15 – Decorate Your House by Bringing the Outside in

Acorns and pinecones – there’s nothing more festive than that! And best of all, they’re free!

Head outside, preferably when there isn’t a foot of snow on the ground (unless you really like a challenge), and collect some pinecones.

Next, do a Google search or head over to Pinterest and find hundreds of great DIY tricks to turn those pinecones into beautiful holiday decorations.

It’s time to dig deep and find your creative bone if you really want to save money and stick to your budget!

Tip #16 – Buy Store Brand Food

Here’s another holiday savings tip that you can use year-round.

Frugal shoppers already know that buying private-label products instead of brand-name ones can save big bucks on the weekly grocery trip – an average of 25%.

You may be worried that by opting for the cheaper off-brand foods, you’ll be sacrificing quality and taste. But that’s not always the case.

According to Consumer Reports, in a recent comparison of 19 grocery stables, their sensory experts judged that the store-brand and name-brand versions tied in 10 cases. The brand name prevailed in eight comparisons and the off-brand beat the name brand once.

If you are cooking for a big crowd, you can save quite a bit of money by grabbing the store brand items without really sacrificing too much on quality. Again, at the end of the day, we’re here to stick to a budget, not to be gourmet chefs.

Tip #17 – Don’t Buy Things that Don’t Get Eaten

Things like fruit cake and Christmas pudding might be traditional, but they're not everyone's favorite. If they're not going to get eaten in your house, don't waste your money on them.

13

Seriously, you know you’re not going to eat that.

Save the time and the money by cooking only the food that you and your family will eat.

Tip #18 – Use Discounted Gift Cards

Did you know that you can sell your unused gift cards online? Maybe grandma finally got the hint to quit buying you ugly sweaters that are 4 sizes too big and to buy you a gift card instead.

But, you know how grandma is. She buys you an iTunes gift card but you’re an Android guy. You can actually trade of sell these gift cards for cash (although not for the full value, but hey it’s cash!).

On the flip side of that, you can buy discounted gift cards online as well! How would you like $100 worth of gifts for $80? You can purchase discounted gift cards for hundreds of online/offline retailers including the Apple Store, Radio Shack, Sears, Home Depot, and many others. Then, turn around and use those to shop for your holiday gifts.

14

Gift card discounts are generally between 5% and 30%. It’s a great way to save money, and even make a little money with your unused gift cards lying around.

Check out Gift Card Rescue to get started.

Tip #19 – Use Social Media

Before you start shopping, start following your favorite retailers on Twitter and Facebook. Many companies offer discounts exclusively to their Twitter followers and Facebook friends, or they may incentivize you to like their page in exchange for a coupon code.

A quick search of your favorite brands and their recent posts may reveal money-saving discount codes.

Tip #20 – Barter via Online Chat

When you're shopping online, look for a "chat" or "live help" button. Tell the customer service representative that you'd like to shop with them but you want a 15% discount. Ask them to check with their manager or you will abandon your shopping cart and click over to their competitor. This won't work all of the time, but when it does it will save you money.

15

Don’t take this the wrong way and start threatening a bunch of retailers that they better give you a discount or you won’t buy from them.

But politely asking them for a discount code as a reason to choose them over a competitor who is offering similar pricing isn’t unreasonable. It doesn’t hurt to ask!

Tip #21 – Find Discount Codes

A large percentage of online retailers offer discount codes. It may not be obvious or promoted on their page, but it’s likely that they exist.

Specifically, if you’re every checking out and you see a box to add a coupon code or a promo code, there’s a very strong possibility that you can hunt one down.

You can simply start by Googling the name of the store along with the words coupon code or promo code.

You can also go directly to sites like RetailMeNot.com, SecretPrices.com or download a popular app like Shopular and then search for your store name.

Another cool trick is that you can download the website browser extension, Honey. It only works on desktop browsers, but it will automatically search through all known coupon codes and apply the best one to your shopping cart when you run it.

Whether you find a $5 coupon code or a 50% off coupon code, it’s money saved!

16

Tip #22 – Get Cash Back

If you're going to spend hundreds of dollars this year on gifts, you might as well try to get a few bucks back. Websites like ebates.com will give you a bonus gift card ($5-$10) just for signing up as well as other cash-back options at retailers like Kohl’s, Amazon, Old Navy, Macy’s, K-Mart and many, many more.

Tip #23 – Use Envelopes to Control Your Spending

The envelope system is one that has been around for a while. It’s a great system to control your spending year-round, but comes especially handy during the holidays when money gets a little tighter.

It works like this: first, create your budget. Then, create an envelope for each spending item and place that amount of cash in each envelope.

Let’s say you have budgeted $200 for food. Create an envelope that is labeled “food” and put $200 cash in it. When you go shopping, grab your envelope and leave your wallet (credit cards) at home. This way, it’s impossible for you to exceed your itemized budget.

If you have $300 to spend on presents for the holidays, do the same thing with an envelope labeled “presents”. If you get to the end of your shopping trip and you’ve tallied up $350 – it’s time to take some items out of the cart.

17

Tip #24 – Don’t Buy Anything for Yourself

I know, I know. I saw the new Paula Deen dishware set marked down 15% too. They would go great with your kitchen and your holiday guests would love them.

No! You have plates already. Put them back.

It’s the season of giving for Rudolph’s sake. Save money and make it easier to stick to your budget by not buying anything for yourself this month.

Tip #25 – Leave the Kids at Home

The picture kind of says it all. When you bring kids shopping with you – weather it’s at the mall or the grocery store, it almost always ends up costing more.

Little Freddy really wants the new Jurassic World toy that just came out and he’s not taking no for an answer.

18

So to prevent any further glaring eyeballs your way, you throw it into the cart and move on. But then Freddy sees the Fun Dip in the check-out line and it’s the kind that has the blue AND the red. He needs it. So we throw it in the cart.

Parents, you know the scenario.

Save money. Leave the kids at home (with proper supervision, obviously).

Bonus Tip #26 – Start Shopping for Next Year This Year

Although the mall will be packed with people returning and exchanging gifts on December 26, it’s also a day of pretty good discount deals, especially on leftover holiday decorations.

Go ahead and grab some of those 80% off deals and pack them away for next year.

Bonus Tip #27 – Abandon Your Shopping Cart

Have you ever shopped online, added some items to the shopping cart and then either decided not to make the purchase, or to come back later to purchase?

If so, have you ever received a follow up email from the online store reminding you to complete your transaction and incentivizing you to do so with a coupon code?

19

It’s a great marketing tactic, but we can turn the tables.

Here’s a list of 17 online retailers who will bait you back with a coupon: http://www.rather-be-shopping.com/blog/2014/07/18/abandon-shopping-cart-get-coupon/

There are many more and they are pretty easy to find. After all, it never hurts to try. Fill your shopping cart with your list and then exit the site and wait about a day. You’ll be pleasantly surprised if a coupon shows up in your email the next day!

Conclusion

The holidays are a wonderful time of year, but can also be the cause of a lot of unnecessary stress over money.

Follow these 25+ tips to help you save money, budget and enjoy your 2015-2016 holiday season!

For more information about credit, financing or budgeting, visit us at http://www.JDByrider.com

20