Shop Now for 2009 and Save

Shopping. Some people love it and some, well, would rather have their fingernails forcefully removed. But one thing everyone can agree on is that saving money when they shop is good. Or in the immortal (haha) words of Morgan Freeman's character God in Bruce Almighty, "Its guuuud!"

And now is the time to definitely save some money. With the economy today, retailers are bursting with deeply discounted items for sale; from HDTVs to pull over sweaters. Christmas decorations are also on sale big time. (No one wants to store inventory for a year, so it needs to go now.) And these sales are not just for the day after Christmas; they will be going on for at least the next several weeks into the New Year.

But what to do, you ask. How are you going to store all that stuff for a whole year?

Invest in plastic bins. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. My wife likes to color coordinate with the holidays. For instance, all her Halloween decorations are in a bg orange bin. Color coding decoration bins is a good idea, since it makes it easier to find what you want when you need it. Christmas can be blue or gold or clear (so you can differentiate the Santa candle holders from the tinsel or lights). Easter can be yellow, Halloween the aforementioned orange, 4^th of July red, white or blue. You get the idea. And it is a good way to store things that have to sit in an attic or garage where moisture might be an issue.

For presents, I recommend something opaque, so the snoopers in the family won't be able to see. And you can label them Christmas (or Hanukah or Kwanza or holiday) decorations. After you pick up presents for people, you can wrap them and label them or just put initials or some other way so you know who you bought them for in the first lace. I would argue against the wrapping option so you don't duplicate. You can also keep a list of what you bought and for whom. (I would keep this list in another bin or another location.)

To buy presents a year in advance presents some unique problems. Clothing goes in and out of style, hot gadgets may not be so hot and the latest DVD may be on cable by the time it gets unwrapped during the holiday season of 2009. But here are a few tips to avoid these issues.

For the movie or television series buff, get a season or boxed set; one you know they would love but never buy for themselves. Or get a classic movie or series they enjoy, as these never go out of style. If they have an interest outside of entertainment, the History channel puts out special DVDs about WWII or the Civil War, etc. A&E has biography collections available.

Socks, underwear, t-shirts and the like never really go out of style and are safe bets. Children's clothes like jeans and shirts with funny sayings also stay in style year after year. To get the right children's size, just up the year by one. For instance, if the child is wearing a 3T, get a 4T. If they are between years, such as can wear a 3T or 4T, then get a 5. Adult sizes for socks and the like pretty much will stay the same.

Electronics are not really a good idea for a year in advance gift, as the prices on things like televisions and DVD players and laptops may go down. Or the product will probably come out with something even cooler next year, like more memory or multi-disc recorders. But the prices are good now if you have birthday coming up soon.

Video games and game consoles might be something to hold off on, but gadgets such as travel alarm clocks or foot massagers or remote controlled beverage coolers are timeless.

So get out there. Save some money and get a real early jump on your gift shopping for the holiday season of 2009.