Get a Head Start on the Holidays

• Consider end-of-season items for those on your shopping list: Summertime merchandise — including barbeque grills and accessories, summer sports equipment, lawn and garden tools, and summer apparel — are all steeply discounted this time of year, so why not start your holiday shopping by picking up some of those bargains for people on your gift list? Regardless of the time of year, there are always end-of-season bargains to be had if you know when and where to look.
  

• Take inventory of what you already have on hand: I love my wife of 28 years dearly, but this has sometimes been a flashpoint in our marriage. She loves to stock up on gift wrap and decorations after the holidays, when they go on sale. And she also shops for holiday gift items for people throughout the year, whenever she sees something at a good price. While I approve wholeheartedly of her money saving motives, when the holidays roll around she sometimes forgets what she already has socked away, so she's been known to go out and buy even more of the same stuff. Now, each fall we take a complete inventory of gifts and other items she has stockpiled before we do any additional holiday shopping. 

• Redeem reward points: A number of my "cheapskate" friends pride themselves on using credit reward points to pay for all of their holiday gift shopping. Of course, these are savvy consumers who pay off their credit card balances every month, so they never pay any interest or other fees. "It's neat to know that all of the gifts I buy for people at Christmastime really don't cost me a dime," Dorothy K. told me. "I rack up reward points on my credit cards all year long and redeem them to do all of my Christmas shopping. I limit my gift shopping to whatever points and cash-back I have coming." It's a great shopping strategy, although make sure to leave yourself enough lead time to redeem the points you've accrued, particularly if you're applying to receive cash back to use for your holiday shopping.
  

• Get a head start on homemade gifts: And finally, nothing says "I care" more than a gift you make yourself for a friend or loved one. That's because the recipient knows you took the time to make it for them. And that's the thing: Making gifts takes time. Whether you're planning to hammer out homemade birdhouses or knit someone a sweater or scarf, now is the time to get started. Heck, it takes a full 10 weeks to make a Famous Yeager Fruitcake, so I need to get started. (That much rum doesn't get absorbed overnight, you know).
  
  Jeff Yeager is the author of The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches and The Cheapskate Next Door. His website is www.UltimateCheapskate.com and you can friend him on Facebook at JeffYeagerUltimateCheapskate or follow him on Twitter.
  
  

Also of interest:

• Debt: 5 ways to handle pushy debt collectors.
• Saving: How to save more on everything.
• Personal Finance: 8 places to find extra cash.

Remember to go to the AARP home page every day for great deals and for tips on keeping healthy and sharp.