What I have learned...The holidays.

Well it's been awhile since I've had worthwhile lessons to share, but over the recent holidays I have come across quite a few learning opportunities, so I thought I would share with you...

What I have learned.

1. Keep track of your stockpile, never think because you have a bunch of a particular item that you are safe! Over the holidays I have managed to run out my frozen milk stockpile as well as my multiple jars of Prego Spaghetti Sauce. Not to mention I was this close to running out of bread, of which I try to have at least 4 in the freezer at any one time.

2. Pick a squeal point. When it comes to holiday shopping, it's a fine line you have to walk between getting the best deal and losing the deal entirely. I found out the hard way when I watched a kitchen aid stand mixer go from 189 to 209 to 229 and finally (I thought) settling at 249. I know you are not supposed to chase a stock as it goes up, but let's be realistic here, if you were chasing a stock that was rising from 10 and you bought it at 15 and it stopped at 60 you'd still think you got a good deal. This is where a price log comes in handy (not that I would have thought to be tracking kitchen aid mixers) because no more than a week after I finally got my dream mixer the price went down again back to 229! It could just have easily not. What have I learned? You need to decide how much you are willing to pay and be willing to wait for it or not get the item at all. Tracking the price of an item only serves to heighten the fear and anxiety that maybe the item will not go down any further. Pick a squeal point, how much you are willing to pay and stick to it! Sometimes it hurts not to get the thing you really want, but sometimes the price tag stings just a bit more.

3. Price matching is your best friend! As I mentioned here, I managed to avoid nearly all the Black Friday Chaos by arming myself with everyone else's ads and walking into Walmart well after the door buster madness had thinned out. Turns out I could have done even better had I been paying attention and gone back out the day after Christmas,which I had made a point not to do. I discovered at MNTK that you can make even more money by using price adjustments. Definitely something to keep in mind next year.