How to make the most out of holiday shopping in 2023

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Oct 16

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This is the year you won't wait until the last minute, the year you'll go into Black Friday with a game plan, the year you won't let yourself or your loved ones fall victim to scams. Or at least it can be with proper planning and preparation from our holiday shopping guide.

Avoid unnecessary stress, save money and enjoy the final months of 2023 with these early holiday shopping tips.

Holiday Shopping 2023 Guide

Start holiday shopping early

A Bankrate survey in September 2023 found half of holiday shoppers had already started checking items off their gift lists or planned to do so before the end of October.

"While the 50% who get in the holiday shopping spirit before Halloween may appear comically ahead of the rush, there are a number of benefits that come with shopping for seasonal gifts and supplies with a few months to spare," writes Ted Rossman of Bankrate.com.

Why you should start your holiday shopping early

By starting your holiday shopping early in 2023, you allow yourself to shop for deals, pay over time and avoid the stress of last-minute shopping. You can also sign up for a cash-back credit card and use rewards earned with your early shopping to buy more gifts or treat yourself to something nice.

Another perk to starting holiday shopping early is the ability to take advantage of returns for items you decide you don't want. Uber, the ridesharing company, is now offering return parcels, allowing consumers to return packages for a flat fee.

Have a holiday shopping plan

Whether you're cooking up a holiday feast or feasting on Black Friday sales, it's important to have a plan.

NerdWallet found 52% of Americans incurred credit card debt from holiday shopping in 2022. To manage or avoid debt, Tiffany Curtis of NerdWallet suggests setting boundaries for spending. Additionally, spending time instead of money — such as handmade gifts or letters of appreciation — can impress loved ones.

Head into shopping season ready to manage spending and debt

Following a plan and staying within a budget is also key to managing holiday stress, Elizabeth Ayoola of NerdWallet writes.

If you need more saving tips, Kimberly Palmer of NerdWallet has seven strategies to help this shopping season, such as rotating subscriptions and signing up for cash-back apps.

7 saving strategies you may not have tried yet

Avoid holiday scams

Even the happiest of holidays can be undone by a grinch looking to defraud unsuspecting shoppers, so it's important to be ever-vigilant this time of year.

In 2022, consumers lost $43 billion to scam artists, according to Javelin Strategy & Research. Jae Bratton of NerdWallet details five credit card scams to watch for this holiday shopping season — and how to fight them.

5 credit card scams to watch out for this holiday season

Also be on the lookout for personal loan scams, which accounted for $8.8 billion in losses in 2022, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Before providing personal or financial information on the internet, Annie Millerbernd of NerdWallet gives you five ways to spot and avoid personal loan scams.

How to spot — and avoid — personal loan scams

How to save time and money on holiday travel

One final way to save money during the 2023 holiday shopping season is to be a savvy traveler.

Booking holiday travel by mid-October (read: now), is the best way to minimize travel expenses, writes NerdWallet's Meghan Coyle. The week of Thanksgiving is always one of the busiest times of the year at airports, but you can avoid the largest crowds by flying on these days around Thanksgiving 2023, as NerdWallet's Sally French writes.