No Boxing Day Purchase Regrets

With worries about the economy and questions about how secure our jobs are, many of us vowed to hold back on our spending during the holidays. After all, we need to put aside some cash for some very potentially stormy days. With all these incredible Boxing Day deals going around, I have to admit I did throw some of that discipline out the window. Being in Canada, we always marvelled at the incredibly cheap prices that Americans seem to take for granted.

Given the doom and gloom permeating on both sides of the border, retailers were quite aggressively pricing their items to move off the shelves as quickly as possible. For the first time in memory, I have seen prices being slashed in Canada that I think would even make Americans act on these sales. With items being marked down as much as 75%, there are certain items I did snap up.

Yes, I have been talking about saving more than you earn but sometimes, rules are made to be broken. I did buy a whole bunch of pullover shirts and DVDs for $10 or less. The Love of my Life did buy a whole bunch of clothes for our new baby. My biggest purchase was a $160 digital camera. Given that both our 4 year digital cameras are busted, we needed one for baby pictures.

I remained steadfast in not buying a flat screen TV since our current old tube TV is still working quite well. I am happy that I did stay relatively disciplined with spending. No frivolous acquisitions such as a new audio system, no Steven Segal DVDs or gaudy lingerie that the Love of my Life would never wear. My January credit card statement won't be too painful.

I also figured that retailers going into next year do not want a repeat of the 2008 holiday season. They rather sell goods at a decent profit rather than quickly moving them out at depressed prices. Thus, they are likely to order less given the much weaker economy and preserve their margins. Many of them will either be shutting down under performing units or paring back expansion. I doubt we will see the big bargains in 2009 like we did this year.

Let me know if you went crazy with boxing day shopping.