poggles3
07-28-2008, 07:43 AM
When do you start holiday shopping? How have gas/clothing/food, etc prices changed your habits?
I used to start in January with small layaways.The prices have changed everything in my shopping patterns, now that walmart doesnt do layaway I watched ads an have started making small layaways at kmart. Not my favorite store by any means but they do have a shelf back by electronics in my store with clearance toys on it. I noticed in the past few weeks there have been quite a few high dollar toys marked way down, so I go put a few outfits on layaway along with a few toys. I used to do one a month an pay it off box it up in the storage room an by Christmas the kids were loaded. School clothes were much cheaper this way too, grab jeans whenever their on sale, wrong size or not, when they sell boys husky jeans for $9 I stock up, then I can always exchange them for the right size when their available. But now with the gas prices to run back to kmart, almost 1/2 hr trip one way, I cant really afford to do the exchanges like I used to. I just did my first layaway of the year a week ago. In the past all my small layaways made birthdays, holidays, anniversaries so much easier, just go dig through the boxes with which ever kids name on them an find some things for that event, now I"m so far behind I havent even started shopping for my little guys birthday, he'll be 3 on the 4th, which the party wont be until Aug. 9th but we cant afford the extras right now. This is the first birthday he will really enjoy and remember and I havent begun to shop. I always make their cakes, special character pans and pipe all the decor myself which saves money, but this year the pans for his party werent available in any store locally so I have to order it off the net. It's one of the most heart breaking effects of prices jumping so far. My husband makes the same amount of money as he did before gas was $4 a gallon, I cant work due to the fact that the cheapest liscensed child care facility in my area charges based on your income an says that $186 a week for all 3 boys is cheap. Are they nuts???? I just wondered who had habits of early shopping that may have changed.
I used to start in January with small layaways.The prices have changed everything in my shopping patterns, now that walmart doesnt do layaway I watched ads an have started making small layaways at kmart. Not my favorite store by any means but they do have a shelf back by electronics in my store with clearance toys on it. I noticed in the past few weeks there have been quite a few high dollar toys marked way down, so I go put a few outfits on layaway along with a few toys. I used to do one a month an pay it off box it up in the storage room an by Christmas the kids were loaded. School clothes were much cheaper this way too, grab jeans whenever their on sale, wrong size or not, when they sell boys husky jeans for $9 I stock up, then I can always exchange them for the right size when their available. But now with the gas prices to run back to kmart, almost 1/2 hr trip one way, I cant really afford to do the exchanges like I used to. I just did my first layaway of the year a week ago. In the past all my small layaways made birthdays, holidays, anniversaries so much easier, just go dig through the boxes with which ever kids name on them an find some things for that event, now I"m so far behind I havent even started shopping for my little guys birthday, he'll be 3 on the 4th, which the party wont be until Aug. 9th but we cant afford the extras right now. This is the first birthday he will really enjoy and remember and I havent begun to shop. I always make their cakes, special character pans and pipe all the decor myself which saves money, but this year the pans for his party werent available in any store locally so I have to order it off the net. It's one of the most heart breaking effects of prices jumping so far. My husband makes the same amount of money as he did before gas was $4 a gallon, I cant work due to the fact that the cheapest liscensed child care facility in my area charges based on your income an says that $186 a week for all 3 boys is cheap. Are they nuts???? I just wondered who had habits of early shopping that may have changed.