Top tips for last-minute holiday shoppers

1. Create a plan. Know what you need.

It might seem obvious, but it’s important. We need to make a list of the gifts we plan to give, and we need to create a budget. Basically, we need to decide what we need, how much we’re willing to spend and where we plan to go to buy the items.

“You need to know what you want to buy,” Miyazaki says. “The worst tactic for time-bound shopping is to walk into a store looking for deals.”

Advertisements and special promotions might confuse you into believing you should gift a particular item even if it wasn’t your initial gift option.

“You are likely to miss out on the real best deals and, even worse, will overspend on items you didn’t really want.”

Another factor: the holiday rush. He explains that when our shopping has a hard deadline such as Christmas Day, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, we are more likely to feel that we have to grab whatever items we see quickly before other people take it. It’s a perceived (and sometimes, real) sense of scarcity of gift options. The time crunch impacts our decision-making process.

Impulse buying also affects our decision-making abilities. How can we curb the shopaholic in us?

“You have to identify your emotional triggers,” Miyazaki says. “Do you tend to make purchases when you are hungry, stressed, or in a rush? The more you can try to think about what types of things will trigger you, the better you can try to avoid those emotional triggers, and go shopping when you are in a clearer frame of mind.”

The best solution? Be prepared with your gift ideas, stick to your plan and shop early.

Plus, do your homework: compare prices across retailers and research sales, coupons and discounts so you’ll be prepared.