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Budget Busting: 5 Holiday Shopping Tips

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Ellen Villafuerte
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Cara Chiaramonte
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UFL chapter.

The holidays are coming up, ladies! Do you know what that means? It means spending time with family and friends, and it most likely means you will have to spend some money on gifts, too. Before you start to worry about going broke from trying to make the important people in your life happy, keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be so bad. There are plenty of ways to give to those who matter most without leaving your wallet empty.


1. If you’re looking for a specific item for someone, look for it on various websites to find the lowest price. Depending on what your gift is, there’s a good chance that there’s a website selling it at a discount. An easy way to do this is to search for the item on Google shopping, which shows you an item’s full price range. 

2. Instead of buying gifts, make them. Unless the people in your life are incredibly vain, then it’s usually the thought that counts. If you take the time to create something, it has a lot more meaning than just buying a gift card and giving it to someone. It’s also a lot cheaper. 

3. Shop at places where you can save using discount cards. Earlier in the semester, I mentioned places such as Target that have debit and credit card programs that save you money every time you use them. Saving even a couple of dollars helps you out in the long run. 

4. Buy gifts when stores are having sales. Although Black Friday and Cyber Monday have already passed, many stores will still have a couple of sales going on during this month. If you plan on buying items from specific stores, check out their websites and ads to see when prices will be reduced. 

5. If you’re buying gifts online, use discount codes. Before you hit the “Check Out” button, make sure to look high and low for any discounts. There are many websites such as RetailMeNot that keep track of any codes you can use.

Keep these tips in mind when you start making your shopping list. Also keep in mind that it’s not the worst thing in the world if you can’t afford extravagant gifts for your friends and family or even if you can’t afford to buy anything. These people are in your life for a reason, and it’s not the presents. If all else fails, a simple homemade card should show how much they mean to you.

Happy holidays, collegiettes™!

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Cara oversees Her Campus Media's community department and serves as strategic lead for the expansion, development and management of all HCM communities, including the Her Campus Chapter Network, InfluenceHer Collective, College Fashionista, Spoon University, Campus Trendsetters, alumni and high school. She works closely with company leadership to develop new community-related sales offerings and the Integrated Marketing team to support all community-focused client marketing programs from end to end. Cara has experience working with high-profile talent, such as Jessica Alba, Andrew Yang, Amber Tamblyn, Aja Naomi King, Troian Bellisario, Jessica Marie Garcia, Nico Tortorella, Nastia Liukin, Rebecca Minkoff, Cecile Richards and Samantha Power, as well as brands like Coca-Cola, L'Oréal Paris, The New York Times, HBO, Uber, H&M and more. Having been a part of the HC family since 2011, Cara served as Campus Correspondent of the HC chapter at the University of Florida where she studied journalism, women’s studies and leadership. A New Yorker turned Floridian, Cara has a Friends quote for any situation. You can usually find her with her friends and family at the beach, a concert or live sports event or binge-watching Grey's Anatomy or Sons of Anarchy. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @thecararose.