Holiday Christmas Shopping Target

I am one of those people who like to have all the Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving so that I never have to deal with huge mall crowds or long lines wasting my weekends in December. Plus aren’t there a million holiday parties to go to in December? They start early in the month with the work related ones and then continue to friends, family and your own household. So do yourself a favor and start your shopping now.

The first step is writing a list of people that you have to buy gifts for. If you are unsure if a neighbor or coworker would be getting you a gift or not, err on the side of caution and get them something small even if they don’t end up getting you something. It’s always better to be generous than not.

Then there are a million sites online that can help you shop and some even have online coupons for extra discounts. Most guys on your list will be interested in electronics and gadgets. The best place for those is Amazon and there are Amazon coupon codes here. Target is also a great place for shopping for kids gifts. I have to send some cute gifts to both my honorary nieces this year and plan to look for educational toys at Target. They also have cute clothes and books for kids that are great too. There are some Target Coupons here.

It’s never too early to start planning because when December comes you will have enough to deal with for the parties you have to attend and the food and decoration preparation you do in your own home. Why not get all the shopping done now, and check that off the list first?

New Google YouTube Ads

I just tried to install the YouTube Google ad format on my other blog. it was interesting, and it isn’t really suited that well for my blog. I got it to work and you can see it here. Chicago Restaurants

Here is what I would like from Google and YouTube to make it better:

1. Better targeting of videos. Maybe choose specific videos that have relevance to your content. Their filters aren’t working for me. I even gave them Chicago keywords as a guide and they still are serving random stuff that isn’t related to Chicago in any way. Maybe use those keywords to do a tag search and just serve those that have those tags? Or let me pick them individually.

2. The size is not right for my blog. It’s too big for anywhere pretty much, so I opted for above the posts because it will blow out the side bars if I put it there. What might work is to update the wordpress theme to alternate posts with video units on the main page. Or I may have to put it inside the posts only, and hope those posts have some relevance to the videos. This won’t work until we get better targeting.

Anyway, it’s an interesting way to syndicate their content out and get this huge affiliate network going generating eyeball views for their content and keeping YT top of mind in consumer’s eyes when so many other video sites are popping up every day.

When did shoes get so expensive???

I was just at Nordstrom on Michigan Avenue at lunch because I had to buy a gift certificate for someone’s birthday coming up. It is a store that almost everyone likes because they have stylish and high quality clothing and accessories for sale. It is always a pleasure to shop there and the sales people are some of the most helpful I have ever met. But where do they get off charging $269.00 for a pair of shoes?

Seriously. Who has that kind of money to spend on something as utilitarian as shoes? First the $500.00 handbag came into existence and now they want us to pay $250.00 or more for shoes? I think not!

I thought it might just be one pair that was fancy or by a big name designer but I picked up 4 more pairs all over $250.00. In fact I couldn’t find any pairs of shoes in any style for less than $100.00. What would the people who buy and wear these shoes while walking right next to me on Michigan Ave think of my $30.00 Target ankle boots that are 2 years old and have the heels worn down at the outsides and occasionally slip and I have to catch myself? I’m not poor. I make a good living, I just can’t justify spending that much money on something you will purposely wear on the pavement outside and will get ruined or worn out in a year or less. They are just shoes!

Maybe my black target ankle boots need to be thrown out, but I have a backup pair already waiting. I just haven’t had the time to break them in a bit so I don’t get blisters walking downtown. Yes, that’s 2 pairs of boots for $60.00. Still not even near spending $269.00. In fact over the summer I bought 2 pairs of flats for $25.00 each and last year I bought a pair of flats, a pair of wedge heels and the backup pair of Target boots. All $30.00 and under. That’s it. I don’t buy many shoes at all, and the requirement is that they be somewhat comfortable and black. I only wear black shoes. It’s most practical.

The only down side to this is that I know the shoes I buy are made in China. I hate that I am weakening our economy by buying imports, but the expensive ones at Nordstrom aren’t from the U.S. either.  They are all from China too, just more expensive on markup. So, it’s a lose-lose proposition and I choose the more financially responsible route.

So, I guess I am not the target of Nordstrom’s marketing. But who would want to be? Ok, if you are a Billionaire, go ahead, buy whatever you want. But the rest of us just end up with a lot of credit card debt if we cave in and buy stuff from Nordstrom all the time. So I would rather not have the debt and have my old boots any day of the week.

Christmas Shopping already? Yes!

Yes, I am thinking about the holidays and shopping already. I have started to make a list of gifts for family and friends but what I actually get will depend on what is available as I save money across the next few months. I know that friends, parents, significant others, siblings and coworkers are hard to buy for depending on what they like and do for fun. I have always taken pride in being able to find unique gifts that are particularly fitting to each person and are exactly what they need and want. So this year should not be any exception. Here are some tips I use for always getting good presents for people I know.

First off, I use online shopping coupons any time they are available. You can do a google search for the store you need when you are at checkout and find what you need to save an extra 10% or get free shipping.

Second, I try and take note of anything that people are interested in as hobbies or sports to find something within the range that they would like. I also listen closely about if they need something mundane but important and they haven’t had the time or money to get it.

Lastly, if they are the person who has it all and nothing is of particular interest, or they live far away, I usually go with a gift card certificate for a store they like. Target Coupons, Old Navy Coupons and Amazon Coupons are always great for most people.