Tips to save during the holiday season

With many retailers hoping to keep their sales figures high, there are lots of opportunities for shoppers to stretch their holiday budgets this year.

One of the best ways to get a deal is to do plenty of comparison shopping online. Many brick and mortar stores, especially large electronic and clothing stores, offer much of their merchandise online. Shoppers can save money on gas and shipping if they wait for the store to offer free shipping on online purchases, as well.

For example, Best Buy is offering free shipping on thousands of online items here.

Another benefit of shopping online is the ability to use coupon codes to save even more. There are Web sites dedicated exclusively to offering coupon codes, and some sites send them out to customers who have made purchases in the past. Some stores will even accept their competitors’ coupons for similar items.

For shoppers that plan on making a lot of their purchases in one location, a small investment in that store’s rewards card could lead to a big payoff. The Borders rewards plus card, for example, offers an additional 10 percent savings on purchases to members. Starbucks and many other well known specialty retailers also offer membership discounts. The memberships themselves make great gift ideas to help pass the savings along.

This year in particular, retailers are putting merchandise on sale and keeping those sales going up until the winter holidays.

Also, check out collective bargaining sites like Groupon which offers unique gift ideas here on the cheap. Click here for the lowdown.

Social media sites save consumers during holidays

Season's twitterings? For this gift-buying time of the year, let social network sites help you save on your holiday shopping.

Social media sites like MySpace, Facebook, and now Twitter, help the masses maintain connections with friends and family. Why not let social media help you save big on your holiday shopping?

This year, almost 50 percent of big retail chains are using sites like Twitter to reach out to consumers, building customer loyalty with each holiday discount they post.

Rachel Holland, a mother of three, a deal seeker and a Twitter fanatic reports in an ABC News report, "I got all of my kids Christmas presents at 75 percent off and I knew exactly when the sale started because of Twitter." She continues, "I feel great about the savings this Christmas, the holidays aren't a burden on it, and it's been wonderful."

Toys "R" Us Facebook followers learned of Black Friday deals before anyone else. Barbie Dolls that were half off, $4 DVDs and 80 percent off select children's toys. Facebook followers of Staples were offered $40 off Bluetooth headsets on Black Friday, and $130 off select GPS units.

So, when your anti-social media friends ask you why you enjoy Facebook and Twitter, be sure to alert them of the holiday-saving benefits.

In the United States, 45 percent of internet users will use social networks to compare products, research items and search for offers according to an ABC news article. If you don't have Facebook or Twitter but are ready to get started, simply go to each Web site and sign up for a free account. Once you are a member, type in your favorite stores in the search tabs of both Facebook and Twitter, and friend them. Voila! The stores will begin to send you tweets or notices about holiday discounts and secret sales.

Consumer savings sites are here to help all over the internet. Loren Bendele, CEO of Savings.com, an up-and-coming site states, "It's a community of people, it's a social network coming together to help each other save money, building that social network around deals, discounts, coupons and promotions, seeing people take off and leveraging all the new media like Twitter, we believed it would happen, but we didn't know it would happen this quickly."

Follow Consumer United on Twitter here.

Are you naughty or nice with energy efficiency?

Too early to get into the holiday mood? No worries. Consumer United unveiled its new Holiday Savings Game here to whip you into the spirit of the season.

Are you on Santa's naughty or nice list when it comes to energy efficiency? Does the idea of high energy prices this winter make you feel anything but jolly?

See how much you can save by taking the following steps from Santa.

Happy holidays from Consumer United!

Tips to avoid a 'bah! humbug!' holiday season

The holidays are a special time of year. Family, food, friends and joy. However, the spending adds up fast with travel, groceries and last-minute shopping.

Our advice? Plan early to avoid a "Bah! Humbug!" holiday season.

Yep, it's only September, but the sooner you begin preparing, the more enjoyable it will be. The goal for the upcoming holiday season is to keep the joy... and a budget. The University of Phoenix offers tips on how to keep a budget around the holidays.

Here's what we've compiled:

Shop now

Spread out your shopping. Buy presents for people througout the year, so you don't have to buy them all at once.

Buy off-season

Buy winter presents in the spring, and summer items in the fall. For example, TJ Maxx has beautiful long summer dresses and designer sandals for $1 right now. At the beginning of the summer, they were $29.99 each.

Arts & crafts

Make holiday presents, and gifts for your friends. Knitting scarves is very easy, and therapeutic as well. Make fudge for friends, and string popcorn for decor.

Research

Do research before you buy that gift. Look it up on online, and check reviews. Is it the best deal? If not, begin your research again.

Hold a 'holiday potluck'
There's no need to spend money on groceries to feed a tribe. If you are going to have a holiday party, it is perfectly appropriate to hold a potluck!

Use cash

Pocket the credit cards and use cash for holiday shopping, so you don't find yourself in post-holiday credit debt coupled with buyers' remorse.

Save

Try to put aside $10 a week for holiday spending. This way it won't be hurting your living budget at all. That's $520 guilt-free dollars to spend come holiday time.