Estimated reading time: 11 minutes
Save money on your purchases with the best after-Christmas sales. Find everything with incredible discounts of up to 75%!
It makes you wonder how much the store paid for the products in the first place.
Often, you’ll find after-Christmas sales up to 75% off the sale price, which is wild.
What should you buy after Christmas sales? That’s only a question you can answer.
Today, I want to discuss the allure of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and after-Christmas sales, including Boxing Day.
Christmas Presents Aren’t The Reason For The Season
However, you may also find that you spend money you don’t have on after-Christmas sales.
This type of shopping puts people on the edge and into debt.
I know a family who celebrates Christmas on December 25th but opens no gifts.
They celebrate the life of Jesus, who was born on Christmas day, and ate a big feast.
Are they being smart with their money?
Often, I would say so, but so are yearly Christmas gifts throughout the year.
After-Christmas Sales Marketing
Many marketing outlets exist for entrepreneurs and stores to get after-Christmas sales messages across to Canadians.
Just look below and check out many ways you can recall the types of marketing.
The power of marketing to your mind and wallet is strong, and it is even harder to say no.
We’re not the best at it, but we work hard to consider a purchase before making it.
Often, it ends up in our miscellaneous budget category because it doesn’t have a home in our budget.
Mrs. CBB and I have considered saving for after-Christmas sales, and in 2022 we will.
- Online Sales
- Contests
- Pop-up After Christmas Sales
- Print Media Flyers, Magazines, Door Hangers, junk mail deals
- Radio Marketing After Christmas Sales
- Door Crashers
- Online Crashers
- Extended Deals from Black Friday and Cyber Monday
- Deepest Discounts Ever
- Curbside Pickup
- Free or discounted Delivery
- Text Message Marketing
My personal and business inbox fills daily with bloggers trying to sell their “professional” courses or stores, pushing and pulling at your wallet.
Weirdly enough, it has been text message marketing from Shoppers Drug Mart that has caught our attention.
We only shop the sales, which is how we’ve grown our 6 million Shoppers Optimum Points rewards card.
For all of you concerned about us not using the points, we did buy a new XBOX for our son for Christmas.
It cost us $61 after using the PC Optimum Points and is still one of the most lucrative rewards programs.
Related: How to Earn PC Optimum Points Fast
You could say that our PC rewards are a way to get bargains on after-Christmas sales.
Online After-Sales Shopping Deals
The big perk for stores with Christmas after-sales is curbside pickup, price point, and efficiency.
Another popular marketing ploy that gets heads spinning is the timeline.
If you order something today, how long does it take to arrive?
Is the deal a deal after Christmas, or does another store offer a better online value?
We have shopped online for Christmas after sales at clothing stores such as Sport Chek for our son.
He grows like a weed, and it’s hard to find pants, joggers, or shorts at second-hand shops.
On occasion, we get lucky, but we plan for clothing sizes.
Second-hand shop prices have skyrocketed, and we can find new ones for less.
It’s about being picky about what you buy in the shops and keeping a thrifty mindset.
For example, we purchased Adidas shorts from Sport Chek online after Christmas sales events.
We used our Canadian Tire Triangle Mastercard for rewards points, plus up to 2.0% cashback with Rakuten.
If you sign up for Rakuten, you’ll see the above photo pop-up on your screen if there’s a cashback discount for your order.
Black Friday Rush For Deals
Even if the price is right, you won’t get me out of the house for Black Friday Christmas shopping.
If it’s a gift I want to purchase, I’ll look for it online and see if I can pick it up or have it delivered.
Almost every business has Black Friday deals online, and shopping from home in my pj’s with a coffee suits me.
Often, when I go into a store, as mentioned above, the marketing is far greater than online shopping.
Cyber Monday Madness
Cyber Monday madness is another name for Black Friday or before Christmas sales.
We made the big mistake of going to Costco yesterday on Cyber Monday.
It was beyond busy, and the wait times were long, but at least we won’t be going back for a while.
Businesses approach customers from every marketing angle to get their money and attention.
I admit to buying gifts online only when they are 50% off or more.
There’s often a sales category or discount area where I find items with deeper discounts.
For Flashfood app users, watch for discounted holiday foods and chocolates online.
You can always store many items in your freezer for future gatherings.
Christmas Shopping Without A Plan
This type of shopping becomes a problem when you don’t have a shopping plan.
There’s no way you can or should be shopping without a Christmas budget and plan.
All you are doing is setting yourself up for debt on your credit card or adding to your line of credit.
During the Christmas season, it’s easy for Canadians to dig into their pockets, savings, or money sources to make someone smile.
People panic, and the bills start coming in from all the hyped-up holiday shopping.
Christmas is not about going into debt to see someone smile; it’s about being with your family.
Are Cyber Monday deals worth it? Yes, if you compare prices and you NEED the item, not WANT it, you’ve saved for it.
At Canadian Tire, the after-Christmas sales are remarkable online and in-store, and I am tempted to look.
I looked online and found awesome deals with free Delivery or pickup. Plus, I used my Canadian Tire Mastercard and Rakuten for Triangle points.
Using Your Debit Card For After-Christmas Sales
If you don’t have a credit card for rewards, you can also sign up for a Simplii Debit Card.
We have this to access cash and several bank accounts for projected expenses.
For example, if you find a lawnmower on sale that you’ve saved up for all year in your projected expenses account, use the debit card to pay for it.
That way, the money comes from the source, and you won’t have to swap cash as we do.
It’s the easier way to save money and ensure you use what you’ve kept on the items you projected to purchase.
Budgeting For After-Christmas Sales
If you look at our monthly budget, you’ll notice that we save monthly for Christmas gifts.
But is the amount we are saving enough for after-Christmas Sales?
Not at all, because we shop for deals when all the hoopla is over.
The catch is only buying what you need; for example, you’re doing renovations and need tools.
How about you’ve moved into a new house and would love to add home decor to each room?
Earlier this year, I created a projected expenses budget binder printable for this reason.
We know we will consider Christmas sales in December when we finalize our 2022 monthly budget.
Not a year goes by that we learn about how to save and spend money.
Using a budget and binder printables undoubtedly helped us pay off this house and debt.
After-Christmas Sales Affordability
Those who don’t want to budget extra money monthly or can’t afford to might want to refrain from shopping.
On Friday last week, Mrs. CBB confessed to shopping online for 50% off for Black Friday Deals.
Most of her favorite online clothing stores offer additional cash savings because we use Rakuten.
If you’re unfamiliar with Rakuten, add it to your mobile phone, laptop, or other devices.
When you shop online, the Rakuten pop-up (see photo below) will tell you that if you purchase something, there are additional savings.
For example, Canadian Tire, Old Navy, Eddie Bauer, Levis, Micheals, TSC, Staples, Indigo, and many other Canadian stores offer cash discounts with Rakuten.
Rakuten has a Holiday Savings tab, Hot Deals, and 3x the money back in cash.
Be savvy with your money and save where you can, especially if there’s free Delivery.
Many of our friends choose online Christmas shopping during the pandemic, so why not save more money?
Our son, who has Autism, dislikes crowds, so we do our best to avoid shopping malls.
We get a cheque from Rakuten about four times a year, which is cashback from online shopping.
How To Save For After-Christmas Sales
After Christmas, sales allowed us to purchase our outdoor Christmas lights, a giant pre-lit wreath, and holiday decor.
It’s mind-blowing how deep discounts drive traffic into a store or online, but the deals are fist-clenching.
That’s the way we felt getting our outdoor Christmas decor at 75% off years ago.
We still shop at Value Village, Thrift Store, and Goodwill to look at the Christmas decor.
It’s almost as if it’s calling our name, and after Christmas, sales again make spending easier.
The obvious way to save money is to avoid any after-Christmas sales shopping.
It gets tricky as it’s a no-brainer when you know you can save money for the next holiday.
For example, we buy an engraved Christmas ornament for our son every year, but they go on sale after Christmas.
Why not buy two at the sale price to have one ready for the following year?
That does seem logical, and I know many of you shop throughout the year, so you don’t have a massive money dump in December.
Shop Smart And Wait For After Christmas Sales
Our friends I mentioned above shop on Boxing Day for Christmas gifts for the family.
They also consider what they can buy on sale now for the following Christmas.
I don’t think there is a wrong or right way; however, I am serious about staying out of debt.
We even track and have to change how we budget after Christmas sales.
That doesn’t mean we open gifts on Boxing Day; it means we Christmas shop with a plan.
After Christmas, markdowns will save the savvy shopper a fortune if they don’t buy into the pre-sales marketing hype.
Quick Review: Saving Money On After-Christmas Sales
- Create a Christmas Budget and add it to your budget categories.
- Use Cash Back Rewards Cards Rakuten is our favorite.
- Use Projected Expenses and incorporate them into your monthly budget.
- Include after-Christmas sales savings in your projected expenses or open a new bank account to save money.
- Shop only for what you will need if it’s the lowest price you’ve seen. (Do a quick online comparison using Google.)
- Stay away from debt after Christmas if you have no money or are credit-maxed.
- Buy Christmas gifts on Boxing Day instead and open gifts afterward.
- Use the Scanning Code of Practice if the store is partnered with this program.
Remember to shop smart and use the cashback online apps and rewards cards to get the best bang for your buck.
Thanks for reading,
Mr. CBB
Discussion: Do you save money for after-Christmas sales?
Please take a few moments below to share your experiences or tips on this topic.
