The flip side of your saving and investing plan is your spending plan – otherwise known as your budget. Few things challenge our best expense-control intentions than the holidays and the desire to give our loved ones, our community and ourselves the warmest, brightest and most abundant holiday possible. Although stores have been stocking their shelves and running ads for holiday gifts and décor since before Halloween, the official holiday shopping season begins the day after Thanksgiving with Black Friday. An estimated 49 percent of American households will send at least one person to the malls and stores this Friday, up from about 40 percent in previous years, according to the Research Group at C. Britt Beemer of America. If you expect to be among those waiting with flashlight and thermos in hand for stores to open in the wee hours of Friday morning, map out your strategy in advance: · Prepare your budget and plan your payment method. If you plan to use a credit card to rack up rewards points, double check the rules for redeeming your points. While having cash in hand may help you visualize your dwindling gift budget, debit cards and credit cards offer the best protection for replacing items that are stolen. · Prepare your list of what you plan to buy each person. Scan the store ads in the newspaper and online to find the best deals. For large purchases, use a price comparison website and check the fine print. Websites may offer the same price (or better) plus free shipping, saving you the trip to the store, and some items may be available in limited – sometimes very limited – quantities. · Watch the register display as your items are rung up. Black Friday specials may not be programmed into the store computer. Have the actual ads in hand to challenge pricing or go high tech – use your cell phone to take a picture of the item on the shelf next to the displayed price. Double-check your receipt before you leave the store, and take any discrepancies to customer service immediately. Helping you save and invest for your financial goals includes helping you find ways to spend wisely so you have more dollars to save. We’ll have more tips for you next week. In the meantime, if you’d like to schedule an appointment to review the saving and investing side of your goals, call your personal financial advisor, Jordan, at 303-741-9772, email him at Jordan@JordanDechtman.com or visit our website at www.JordanDechtman.com any time.