Local shoppers tighten their belts as holiday shopping gets underway

For Teresa Jones of Grifton, holiday shopping on a budget is simple: look for deals wherever you can, especially at clearance sales.

“I don’t buy; I shop around,” Jones said Monday while perusing the wares at Christmas at Sonda’s at Vernon Park Mall. “And nine times out of 10, I find it on sale somewhere else.”

She carried shopping bags filled with summer clothing bought on sale at Goody’s on Monday, and she plans to begin shopping for next Christmas during clearance sales taking place after Christmas this year.

“I’ve got a lot of my shopping already done just from clearance sales,” Jones said. “When you’ve got seven grandchildren, you have to do that.”

Sonda Boles, owner of Christmas at Sonda’s and Sonda’s Gift Gallery at the mall, said her stores offer shoppers affordable items that — in some cases — cost less than items offered on sale at other gift shops.

“We cater to the average person who is on a limited budget,” Boles said.

Many of the items can be found for less than $10.

The national recession of the past two years has taken a toll on shoppers’ finances, forcing them to make difficult choices when it comes to holiday shopping.

Retailers large and small have recognized the need to shop on a budget, and are offering deals galore this season.

Mobile phone service provider U.S. Cellular is offering, through its Belief Project promotion, $80 mail-in rebates on four types of Android-powered smartphones through Monday, which, in effect, slashes prices of some phones in half and, in other cases, allows customers to get them free if they participate in the Belief Plan or Legacy Plan.

“We really listened to the consumers and that’s the whole premise of our Belief Project, is really removing (cost) barriers for the customers,” said Kimberly Sebastian, U.S. Cellular’s director of sales for Eastern North Carolina.

Sebastian noted the increase in popularity of smartphones, and customers can look for bargains and shop on their phones through either downloadable apps or the phone’s Internet browser.

“There are so many applications and efficiencies with smartphones,” she said.

Teia Garner of Kinston was in Imagine Wireless — a local exclusive agent for U.S. Cellular — on Monday, browsing smartphones and the Samsung Galaxy Tab, one of this year’s competitors with Apple’s iPad.

Garner was unemployed for two years before she recently began working in Sanderson Farms’ Kinston processing plant, forcing her to spend next to nothing on Christmas shopping.

Last year, many of the gifts for her two children came through the Salvation Army’s annual toy drive.

“The economy is really bad, and I’m just taking it one day at a time,” she said.

Garner said even though she is employed again, she is looking for bargains wherever she can, and passed on buying the Galaxy Tab on Monday, which is currently on sale.

“It was nice, but I probably couldn’t afford it right now, but I really liked it,” she said.

As a small business owner, Gary Alphin of Kinston has also had to cut back his costs to deal with less revenue, and that is affecting his family’s holiday shopping as well.

“We’re trying each Friday to look online and see what the deals are going to be,” he said.

The owner of Hobart’s Sales and Services, which provides service for food-preparation equipment in schools, hospitals, restaurants and elsewhere, was in Imagine Wireless on Monday working to find a more affordable business cell phone plan.

“People are cutting their eating-out budgets, but I’ve adjusted my budget to accommodate for the drop in service business,” said Alphin, who has 10 employees.

U.S. Cellular is one of the large retailers that is beginning Black Friday sales early this year, other including Target and Walmart.

David Anderson can be reached at 252-559-1077 or danderson@freedomenc.com.

BREAKOUT BOX:

Lou Scatigna is a financial planner, radio host and author of The Financial Physician. He offers some of the following tips for shopping on a budget:

- Start shopping now, and spread your buying over 16 weeks instead of three or four

- Use the Internet to find bargains not offered by brick and mortar stores that must also account for their overhead

- Determine ahead of time how much you will put on credit cards

- Make sure your children understand that you must spend less on gifts during tough times

For more information, visit thefinancialphysician.com.