Take some of the stress out of holiday shopping with these seven tips.

The holidays are primarily about spending time with loved ones, enjoying family and making new memories as we cozy up together during the winter weather. But many of us also get into the spirit of giving. It’s important to share gifts with the ones we love without breaking the bank. To help do that, you need a plan. Here are seven holiday shopping tips to help you navigate the ups and downs of the gift-buying season.

1. Create a Budget: Avoid overspending and financial stress by setting and sticking to a clear budget.
2. Shop Early: The earlier you start working through your list, the less stressful you’ll likely be. You will also be able to make better decisions and comparison shop for deals when you’re not rushing last-minute purchases.
3. Search for Sales and Coupon Codes: You don’t necessarily have to fight a crowd on Black Friday to get discounts. Search for coupon codes for online shopping. Look for free shipping deals. Even saving a few bucks here and there can add up your savings quickly.
4. Plan Around Your Schedule: Don’t just try to cram shopping in when you’re already busy. Plan ahead and fit a few shopping excursions in areas you’ll already be in for day-to-day errands. Work with the flow of your schedule, not against it.
5. Get Your Receipts Emailed: Sometimes you realize you didn’t buy the right gift and need to return it. Paper receipts can get lost or too faded to be legible. A digital receipt in your email inbox can easily be accessed on your phone. As long as you don’t delete them by mistake, you can’t lose them, making it easier to complete returns or exchanges.
6. Beware of Phishing: Unscrupulous scammers may send you texts or web links pretending to be brands you know and trust. They may attempt to send you to a cloned website that looks like the real deal but isn’t. Don’t follow links to your favorite retailers' websites. Enter their web address in your browser manually. Make sure you’ve spelled it correctly. And be wary of any offer that sounds too good to be true. It probably is.
7. Shop Local: Support small businesses, retailers and artisans in your local community. Every dollar you spend locally helps your local economy and your community. Making your neighborhood a better place takes your support.

No matter what your holiday shopping season looks like, we encourage you to budget responsibly and exercise safety. Don’t forget, to help you get started off on the right foot this holiday season, you can use the budgeting tool in your Cadence Bank Online and Mobile Banking app.

From all of us at Cadence Bank, we’re wishing you and yours very happy holidays!

Sources: Better Business Bureau, National Retail Federation, Federal Trade Commission

This article is provided as a free service to you and is for general informational purposes only. Cadence Bank makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the content in the article. The article is not intended to provide legal, accounting or tax advice and should not be relied upon for such purposes.