Shopping Tips For Last Minute Shoppers
Published December 24th, 2012
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GAINESVILLE - For some people last minute shopping can be a dangerous encounter, Terri Cason a Fort White resident tells me. "And I am driving through trying not to park, but just get to Best Buy from the restaurant and then this lady I thought was going to get down from her car and attack me," Cason says.
Everyone's trying to beat that holiday rush Cason adds, "And I wasn't even trying to get her space, I am trying to go by... Hahaha."
While some people have been done with their holiday shopping list for weeks now, other's didn't even get started until today. "We don't have stores in Fort White, we're a little bitty town, so we have to come to gainesville or lake city to go shopping," Cason says.
For Cason, a Fort White teacher gift-shopping doesn't come easy due to her location. "There's always people that you haven't bought for yet that you really have no idea what you want to get until you just jump out and see it and then you buy it," Cason says.
Now for those last-minute shoppers like cason there are some ways to deal with the shopping madness. Michael Gutter, a financial management specialist at the University of Florida advises people to make a list and check it twice.
"If possible, write it down like a check list so that you can look at specifically the people that your shopping for, the things that you plan to shop for them with," Gutter says.
Before you get out there, beat the stores by doing comparison shopping. "Focus on using everything from bar code apps on our cell phones to using the internet, to even just going driving around to different stores if you need to," Gutter adds.
Try to pay in cash and take exactly the amount you plan to spend... It's easy to swipe a card and it may encourage you to spend more. Gutter says, "If you bring extra money, you'll typically find a way to spend it."
And for those out there who can't go out or can't spend too much. Get crafty with your gifts, self made presents are often the best. This holiday season remember, it's the thought that counts
Reporter:
Stephanie Bechara
