Save Money On Holiday Shopping: 5 Tips From Discover

By Megan (Weyrauch) Johnson on December 3, 2015

Black Friday has come and gone, but you still have shopping to do! Save your money this year and follow these five holiday money-saving tips, brought to you by Discover.

1. Create a budget.

Though it seems daunting, creating a budget will help you stay within appropriate spending limits as you do your holiday shopping. Many apps exist to simplify your finances by syncing all of your accounts. You can use apps to monitor your spending, manage your budget while shopping, and pay your bills on time.

2. Earn credit for shopping.

Staying within your budget, research the gifts you plan on buying to find promotions, coupons or deals on those items. Most major credit card issuers offer an online shopping portal — like Discover Deals — which gives you cash back when you shop at your favorite stores after connecting through the Discover Deals site.

Redeem your credit card rewards for a statement credit or a direct deposit with Discover.

http://zeeblu.com

3. DIY gifts are a great option.

Avoid crowded malls and the rush of holiday shoppers by making your own gifts. Great for hard-to-please friends and family members, DIY gifts are inexpensive and can be used as a fun holiday activity among friends. A few cheap and easy-to-make suggestions from Discover are:

*Mason jar recipes filled with treats for late-night study sessions
*Tie-blanket using your school’s colors or favorite sports team
*Print canvas of travels from studying abroad (or your best selfie!)
*Homemade treats for holiday parties

4. Put your money into charity.

Make an impact on your community and create lasting memories by getting your friends together and putting your money towards a charitable cause instead of each other. Some ways to give a gift that keeps on giving include:

*Volunteer at a soup kitchen
*Collect canned goods for a local food drive
*Donate those clothes you haven’t worn all year
*Read to children at a local hospital

5. Make sure your credit card offers benefits.

When buying gifts this year with your credit card, make sure it has benefits that put money back in your pocket, such as discounts from your favorite retailers and cash back rewards. For example, the Discover it® chrome for Students card gives you:

*2% Cashback Bonus® at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 of combined purchases quarterly
*1% Cashback Bonus on all other purchases
*The ability to pay with your Cashback Bonus on Amazon.com
*The option to get a boost in value on merchant gift cards and eCertificates when you redeem your Cashback Bonus for them – (a.k.a., a great gift option for anyone you may be struggling with gift ideas for)

New card members can also get a Good Grades reward where you earn $20 in Cashback Bonus if your grade point average is 3.0 (or equivalent) or higher each year you’re enrolled in school, for up to five years from your account opening.

For more information about Discover, visit discover.com.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format