Shopping the After Christmas Sales

Any serious shopper knows that the Christmas shopping frenzy doesn't stop Christmas day. After Christmas sales bring out the bargain hunters in droves. Here are some tips for getting the most out of after Christmas sales.

• Know exactly what you want ahead of time and know that shopping for certain items is a waste of time. The best Christmas cards and prettiest wrapping paper was snapped up before Christmas, so don't bother looking for these items at department stores. Although you may have some luck at dollar stores.
• The cutest clothes in the most popular styles probably sold out before Christmas. Your best bet for getting the most attractive pieces at the best price is to hope someone returned that item or that the item you coveted is still available at the retailers online stores.
• It only looks like the entire population is at the mall returning items the day after Christmas. Some people wait days, even weeks to return unwanted gifts. Shop your favorite stores frequently after Christmas to increase your chances of snapping up coveted items that have been returned.
• Certain one size fits all items like scarves and gloves are easy to find in abundance because retailers stock up on them for the holiday season. Think of affordable items that are often bought as gifts, such as gift baskets filled with scented body lotions and beauty products or even food items like candy, and shop for those.
• Pay cash. Those "bargains" can add up fast and leave you with a high credit card bill. Go shopping with a specific amount of cash on hand. When you run out of cash you are done shopping, period.
• The weekend after Christmas is no time to shop if you are in a hurry. Between the hoards of bargain hunters shopping and the hoards of people returning items, time will stand still as you wait in line to get rung up by the cashier. Deal with it. Bring along a book of Sudoku puzzles to work on, charge up your smart phone and go ahead and start on that great American novel you have been meaning to write. Whatever you do, don't complain, be happy about all of the bargains you found!