TAMPA, Fla. — Budgets are tight right now. A lot of people are feeling the financial squeeze.
"You can not even go in the grocery store and get a bag of groceries for $100 anymore. It seems like everything is just getting more expensive," said Kimberly Hoffman, manager of Sunshine Thrift Store in Tampa.
WATCH: Shopping experts recommend starting holiday shopping early, consider buying secondhand gifts to save money
With the holidays coming up, some budgets are looking even tighter.
"Especially around the holidays it can be tough because you still want to feel good but you don’t want to spend so much," said Jessica Tejada, who works at Labelswap in Tampa.
Since the holiday shopping season is almost here, Tampa Bay 28 spoke with shopping expert, Trae Bodge, about ways to help people save money.
"I think that getting a general idea of what the landscape is for certain products can be really helpful," said Trae Bodge, smart shopping expert for TrueTrae.com.
She believes one of the best things you can do is get organized. Make a list of who you want to buy for and set a budget for each person, that way you can start looking for deals.
"Something that we fall into often is like a ‘one for them, one for me’ pattern which around the holidays is not helpful if you’re really on a tight budget. So having that list, revisiting that list. Maybe adding yourself to that list so you at least are feeling like you can buy yourself one or two little presents but you’re not going to go overboard," said Bodge.
Also consider using tools online to help you find the best prices.
"There’s Yahoo Shopping, there’s Google Shopping, there’s a new tool called price.com which is more AI driven. You can enter the name of the items that you’re looking for and just get a sense of where they’re sold and for how much and if there are deals available," said Bodge.
The earlier you start, the better.
"Another good reason to shop early, is I’m hearing whispers of some supply chain issues later in the season and maybe some stock issues. Because of the tariff roller coaster that we’ve been on all year, some retailers pulled back on their holiday orders and so now there might be some things that could sell out later in the season," said Bodge.
Shopping early will not only help you avoid the rush before Christmas, but it’ll also help spread out spending over multiple pay periods.
"A lot of us are feeling really tight financially right now and there are a couple of things you can do to free up some money," said Bodge.
One of those is reviewing your monthly expenses to see where you can cut back.
Another way is by shopping secondhand, where you can find gently used items at a discount.
"We get name brands, Michael Kors, Gucci, Chanel, Lululemon, Nike," said Hoffman.
She told Tampa Bay 28 that if you’re looking for a deal, you can find great items that are a fraction of the price.
"We get a lot of brand new items with brand new tags on them and you’re going to pay like a third of what you would pay at a department store for the items in our store," said Hoffman.
Employees for Labelswap in Tampa, another secondhand store, told Tampa Bay 28 they also think shopping secondhand is a great way to save money this holiday season.
"My personal experience, life is getting a bit expensive out there so to be able to go into a thrift store like this is really refreshing," said Tejada.
"Everything that you get secondhand or at least here is between 50-95% off the retail price," said Rachel Soriano, the Labelswap marketing manager.
If you’re on a really tight budget and looking for a way to make some extra cash to be able to buy gifts for the holiday season, a lot of secondhand stores, like Labelswap, will pay for your gently used items.
So now is a good time to go through your closet to see if there’s anything you no longer use that can make you some money.
"Customers will come in and they’ll bring in pieces that they don’t use anymore and we’ll give them money for it," said Soriano.
“I would say literally 99% of everything in here is in mint condition or really, really close to mint condition. It’s a great way to clear out your closet and make some extra cash on the side too," said Tejada.
She knows there are a lot of misconceptions about thrifting, but she believes gifting someone something that’s gently used is just as good if it’s brand new.
"So what I didn’t spend x amount, I spent this amount but still got the same piece," said Tejada.
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