Eight keys to saving on the purchase of Christmas gifts

It’s already in the air. Little by little, supermarkets and stores are tinting their usual atmosphere with red, white, green and frost. Also large signs that condemn what you already know but don’t want to say out loud so you don’t succumb to stress. But it’s November and there’s no avoiding it: Christmas is coming!

Joy or nightmare? Judging from the context, the answer is far from simple. Although the consumer price index (CPI) rose less than expected last October—0.5% against 0.9% expected—we are living through a complex economic scenario, marked by inflation of 12.8% over a year.

For Joan Dagá, founder of Scart , a platform for offers and quotes, this context has “strongly impacted the household budget”. And to the CPI is added a drop in commercial activity – with an IMACEC of -0.4%, last September – “which is also starting to affect consumers, who are becoming more cautious in the face of this scenario”.

Despite the negative scenario, Pablo González, doctor in economics, argues that due to the idiosyncrasy “people will surely increase their level of spending, as it is usual on this date”. González, an academic from the Faculty of Economics and Business of the Alberto Hurtado University, gives as an example what happened recently during national holidays, when “a very small part of people saved their Christmas bonus” .

Certainly, “the number of people who did not spend it was greater than in other years; the vast majority, due to cultural factors, because these dates play with the limits”.

But there’s no reason to destroy the purse or bury the future to show love and affection at Christmas. It’s also not about not spending a single one, because we know that’s not possible. Can you imagine a Christmas without people spending money on gifts? Reminds me of that scene from The simpsons:

Finally. Here we leave you some keys, proposed by the experts, so that you do not suffer so much from the Christmas shopping that is coming. Take note.

Pablo González says the first thing to do is plan ahead and recognize your own resource limitations. It is essential to take into account the ability to pay future debts and contingencies that may arise in the coming months. “Bring debt levels closer to available allowances or ability to pay, as unforeseen events may arise, for example, health or job loss, which will cause a lot of stress if there is no money to pay them.”

The president of the Organization of Consumers and Users of Chile (ODECU) Stefan Larenas, agrees and argues that the main problems this Christmas are related to low incomes and inflation.

“It is important that the consumer allocates a percentage to purchases, but that he does not despair of buying everything and giving gifts to everyone, because the future looks complicated.”

With the future, he evokes the next year, whose forecasts are not the most encouraging. “It’s not seen as an economic recovery scenario, but rather the opposite,” González says. For this reason, for Larenas “this is the right time to understand that Christmas gifts are only for children. Everyone will decide, but it is important to think that austerity is necessary”. Let’s not forget that after Christmas there is the summer vacation and then the wheel keeps turning: the always boring month of March arrives, “when you have to pay tuition fees, patents, etc.”

On this date or another, rushing can lead to bad decisions. This, says González, implies “a less varied offer if left very close to the date”.

Joan Dagá uses memory to set Christmas scenes from the past. There is always “a large crowd in shopping centers and a significant increase in demand, so there is generally an increase in prices”. Added to this is the start of summer, “which also arouses particular interest in holiday-related products, the prices of which are also rising”.

It’s a classic mistake among consumers, and yet it’s a basic key to not banging your head against the wall afterwards. There is no shortage of the insidious comment that is said of a friend: “It was so expensive for you?! I bought it in two.” Well, at least to avoid hurting pride – if budget isn’t that important to you – you should quote and compare prices.

“Given the large number of stores on line Yes marketplaces, it is possible to find the same product at a different price, even in the same store. That’s why it’s important to quote well,” says Dagá.

On the Internet, you can find various free services that allow you to compare prices. One of them is exactly scart , which also allows you to subscribe to be notified when the products you are looking for are at their best price. Another highly recommended option is Knasta .

A classic mistake to watch out for is: “People see a credit card as an extension of their salary,” explains Stefan Larenas. But this is clearly not the case. Remember that “if you are going to buy a gift, for example an electronic item, and you pay for it in twelve installments, it means that in the end you will pay more than what the gift was worth”.

In addition to the value of the product, it must be considered that credit cards involve management fees, interest and, possibly, late payment for late payment. Larenas says that, even paying “the cash price in three installments,” the final value ends up being higher than that listed for the product. And this for administration costs.

For his part, Pablo González maintains that one of the biggest difficulties for the Christmas holidays this year is that “we have a scenario with interest rates that will remain high in the short term. And consumer finance is short-term.”

Therefore, Larenas reiterates, “the first thing is to have as austere a Christmas as possible.” I hope to pay cash and debit.

According to Pablo González, buying online has the advantage of allowing you to view prices at a lower cost, “just by changing tabs in the browser”. The problem is that people judge whether to buy in person or online based on whether or not they have defined what they want to buy. For the same reason, a “smart” way to do your Christmas shopping is to define in advance what will be bought from whom.

A common mistake for Stefan Larenas is to end up buying “anything” as a gift. “When it comes to giving gifts to children, it would be important to consider a certain durability of the product over time. let it last Even if it costs two lucas, if it only lasts 24 hours, it’s a waste of money. A smart purchase is linked to something that is necessary and above all that is sustainable”.

One factor that can make people reluctant to prefer online shopping to face-to-face shopping, González explains, is “the fear or potential complexity of making payments on line”. However, he believes, “the pandemic has erased some of that fear.”

Buying online allows you to “save on your Christmas shopping,” Dagá believes, because it’s easier to quote and compare prices. Plus, “you don’t have to go to a mall and suffer from large crowds of people or queues.” This is not a minor point given the increases in covid-19 contagion that have been recorded in recent weeks.

If you are going to choose the e-commerce, Larenas advises to consider two fundamental aspects. “The first thing is that for any online purchase there is a 10-day withdrawal period. In other words, I may regret what I bought, either because it wasn’t the product I expected or simply because I didn’t like it. And for that, I have the right to repent.

The second aspect concerns the delivery date of the products. “If you’re buying with Christmas in mind, the product can’t arrive in February,” he explains. And if that happens, “I have the right to return it and have the payment reversed,” he adds. For this reason, he notes, it is important to “buy in advance”.

Cybercrime has increased in recent years. Indeed, in the last Microsoft’s annual digital defense report which includes the periods of July 2021 and June 2022, establishes a 74% increase in the hacks data in Latin America. For the same reason, you should be even more rigorous about protecting your privacy and pay more attention to the sites you visit. Especially if you are going to enter sensitive information.

The first thing, Dagá recommends, is to check that the store’s website is secure. To do this, he explains, you need:

• Check that HTTPS appears in the browser bar” (and not, for example, “HTTPS”). It is also important to check that the url of the site is well written (for example www.latercera.com and not wwww.latecera.com ).
• Don’t believe all the offers: “Beware of ridiculous prices, because they can be scams.”
• If you buy from an unknown store, “we recommend that you Google before considering the comments and Commentsand thus know if there are other people who have bought there”.
• Look at the means of payment, since “generally the stores on line Those that are reliable offer several options.
• Know return and exchange policies, have up-to-date anti-virus, and don’t use public Wi-Fi.

Friday, November 25 will be the last Black Friday of the year, which means a golden opportunity to get your Christmas shopping early and save. Remember that on sites like Scart you can subscribe, adding the products you are interested in, in order to receive notifications with the best offers. You can also complete your price analysis with other platforms, such as Knasta.cl That is Solotodo.cl which allow you to see graphs with the price variations of the products, in order to make sure that the offer you have found is really good or not.