Holiday Shopping Tips- When it comes to buying gifts, many of us are terrible at this front. Either we end up purchasing redundant gifts or overspending on unnecessary things. If you want to buy superb gifts without wobbling your budget, then learn some dos and don’ts of holiday shopping that help you use your money smartly while avoiding reckless spending.

Holiday shopping and stress go hand in hand. It not only carries a lot of excitement but this enthusiasm is fully capable of jiggling your budget and drowning you financially. The stress of figuring out what sort of gifts to pick for your loved ones is already huge. Additionally, you have to ensure everybody’s happiness while being fair to your wallet.

Whether you are buying gifts for your family, friends, or someone special, the whole holiday shopping is an expensive time of the year. Even if you are willing to spend, you cannot do it carelessly. To help you in this incalculably nerve-wracking situation, we have come up with great holiday shopping tips. You will get to learn tips that you need to incorporate and some common buying mistakes that you need to avoid while doing holiday shopping.

Holiday Shopping Tips – Do’s & Dont’s

Holiday seasons are already very distressing. Buying gifts adds up to that stress level even more. If you are going on a date with your partner on holiday, obviously you will take some gifts. And it is said that by giving gifts to each other, the relationship becomes stronger. This strain leads to making major money blunders so you need to learn a few holiday shopping mistakes you need to avoid. To make sure that your finances don’t blow up due to expanded spending, here are some important holiday shopping dos and don’ts that will save you from being in such a state.

05 important do’s in holiday shopping

1. Budgeting is vital

Whether you are buying presents online or heading towards the mall, you need to establish a budget for it. Jot down the name of people whom you are planning to buy presents for. Now decide the amount which is going to be spent on gifts. Once you have this figure, divide the total by the number of presents you need. This step will give you a fair idea of the amount you are going to spend on each person. You might want to spend more on a few people, make adjustments accordingly or reduce the amount for other people’s gifts properly.

2.   Grab deals

You need to start early in order to grab various deals in shops, malls, or online. Starting a little early will give you the flexibility to decide on gifts and compare the prices of each. You are required to do some research. Moreover, you can find many shopping apps that allow you to compare gift prices across various websites and notifies you regarding the price drop of your wishlist items. Buying everything in a single day will reduce the opportunity of doing savings on the same gifts.

3.   Try taking twofold discounts

You save a substantial amount of money on various discounting deals in the market. For example, many credit card companies offer a 15% discount or some cash back on opening up a new card. If you grab such discounted deals, you can save a significant amount of money. Combining sales with such a new credit card opening strategy can save a lot. Please note you need to be disciplined to pay off the balance in the first months. But if you don’t trust yourself avoid this strategy.

4.   Save on shipping

 

It is unwise to spend super extra money on shipping charges. Simply put, there is no point in spending additional money for the shipping. Do your research and see which websites are offering free shipping for the products. If there are minimums, you can bundle some gifts you want to buy to earn free shipping. This is one of the tips for saving on holiday gifting & shopping.

5.   Earn rewards

The holiday season is the time of the year when you spend the most. Why not earn rewards and use credit cards that offer good cashback? But make sure you pay the balance on time.

05 important don’ts in holiday shopping

1.   Stick to the budget

 

You need to stick to your budget whenever you buy gifts for your loved ones. Holiday seasons are meant to be festive and bring joy. You should not put yourself in a debt cycle to purchase expensive gifts for someone. Avoid enriching other people’s lives at your own expense. Don’t spend more than you have planned and aim for holiday shopping on a budget.

Recommended –  8 Habits That Keep You Poor Even With A Reasonable Income

2.   Be frugal, not cheap

There is a thin line between being frugal and cheap. If you are frugal you will do maximum efforts in finding the best price for your shortlisted gift item. Being cheap is when people put the price of the product above its quality. They buy poor stuff with the lowest quality just because it is cheaper.

3.   Avoid buying, if you can make

 

Undeniably, handmade gifts are more memorable and special to one’s heart. For example, many elderly people knit sweaters for their grandchildren out of love. We are not asking you to do it as time has changed a lot. You can draw nice paintings, make cards, or create a photo album with favorite pictures, etc. Apart from this, if you are organizing a surprise party for your partner, then you can make a cake by yourself on the holiday. Or you can make any handicraft item by yourself, believe that your partner will like it very much and that day will become memorable.

4.   Don’t ignore the eligibility of returns

You should never buy any product on sale that is not eligible for return. Purchasing items from sales is a little dicey. If you end up spending all your money on the incorrect shirt size, gift a video game to the person who already has it, or the item is not working up to the mark. In such a situation, getting frustrated is normal. Things even become worse when you fail to return them. Therefore, prior to buying any stuff whether it is small or big, always check its return eligibility.

5.   Avoid paying for the delivery return

This is a hard truth, every gift you order is not always successful. Most online sellers pick up returnable items from your doorstep but a few don’t follow the same. Online shopping is trickier than you think. Therefore, make sure whoever seller you chose does not charge additional shipping costs for exchanging or returning the item. This especially applies to clothing because sizes are very uncertain.

Quick Holiday Shopping and safety tips

 

Safety is equally important when you are out with a lot of cash to buy gift items. Holiday seasons are the busiest and most crowded, so you need to take additional precautions. Let us take a quick look at some of the tips for your safety on the move:

• Keep your wallets/purses in the front pockets of your pants or close to your body.
• Avoid arguing over any item. You will get distracted and it would be easier for thieves to steal from you.
• Never flash the amount of cash you are carrying. Don’t take it out until required.
• Avoid carrying more items than your capacity.
• Using a single card will prevent data breaches because this issue has occurred several times in the past.
• Keep all the receipts with you and monitor card transaction activity by checking them periodically or immediately.
• Take help while carrying large or heavy items.

If you are taking children, find a spot and ask them to gather there in case of separation. Teach your children to ask for help from staff or security personnel when they get lost in the crowd.

If you are shopping online then consider:

• Sticking to the known retailer or with whom you have shopped earlier.
• Research the business by checking complaints and reviews before making a purchase.
• Keep all the shopping apps updated.
• Don’t fall for a deal that seems untrue.
• Make sure that a company URL starts with HTTPS not HTTP. The extra ‘s’ stands for added safety and security of the webpage. If you want to know more about it then definitely read this- Why SSL is Important for a website?
• Avoid using public Wi-Fi while purchasing items. This makes it easier for hackers to intercept your personal info and use it for an illegitimate purpose

Final thoughts

Holiday seasons are meant to be joyous, you should not burden yourself financially due to your kindness. You need to look after other things as well. Setting a budget is one of the best tips for shopping while on holiday. It helps you avoid spending more on things. Having a predetermined budget saves your money and averts likely financial strain.

Holiday shopping is stressful for many. Additionally, overspending on presents is a common problem because we are tempted to spend excitedly on things. For instance, when a person gets a job and starts making good money. He/she would want to gift all those people who have helped him/her in the struggle and festive times are the best to convey thanks.

Most importantly, use this time to make innumerable priceless memories with your friends, family, and special someone. Make this gifting process a little less stressful with the help of all the above dos and don’ts. Stress while figuring out the gifts and coming up with a budget is tough, but in the end, all these efforts are going to pay off in the most rewarding way!

Comments

comments

Cutting nails shorter, smudging newly coated paint, and rough cuticles are temporary and manageable but polish spillage on your favorite dress can be permanent. Learn these smart tips to get nail polish out of clothes or any sort of fabric!

Does nail polish come out of fabric? The answer is ‘yes. We all have been there—you were freshening up your nails with a new color and the whole bottle takes a tumble. Or you found out that a big glob dropped into your favorite top or carpet while doing mother-daughter fun activities. In such cases, the first thing you would want in your life is to get that nail polish out of your clothes or rather buy acetone as it is one of the effective methods to remove polish stains. However, there are some other techniques that can make your compromised fabric like it was before the mishap.

Coming across tiny and big accidents is part of our lives. Most of you might think that removing nail paint from any fabric is one of the hardest jobs but it’s not. On the contrary, being a trouble-free substance nail polish stain removal is the easiest thing you can do with a few simple methods mentioned in this post.

How to Get Nail Polish Out of Clothes, upholstery, leather, & carpet, Follow these best tricks

No matter how cautious you remain while painting your nails, once in a while you might have spilled the paint onto your clothes, carpet, or any other type of fabric. It becomes a nightmare when it quickly dries up and seems impossible to wipe out.

In this post, we have curated some of the effective tips to get rid of that rigid nail polish stain from your favorite piece of cloth, carpet, upholstery, and leather. You can easily bring your much-loved cloth back to normal.

Removing nail polish from a piece of cloth

Method 1:

If the compromised cloth is cotton, linen, or synthetic like polyester or nylon then the below methods can quickly fix it. If you notice that polish is spreading, try using an ice pack to cool the stained area to dry it up and contain it ASAP.

•  Allow the polish stain to dry completely. Avoid touching wet polish because it will allow the nail paint to stain the fabric even deeper.
• Once it gets dry lift it with a tool or your nails. If you think it is under your full control, dip a clean cloth in nail polish remover and start dabbing it quickly. Make sure you use a non-acetone remover because it won’t damage the fabric. Because some fabrics negatively react with acetone.
• If you see that you are successful in removing excess nail polish from the fabric, a cold water machine wash is suggested.
• Hang it dry and if you see that stain traces are still present after a machine wash then reach professional guidance to further help you from there.
• Also, if you think that the fabric is too delicate and you are not sure how the above procedure will react to its material then don’t perform this and reach out to your local dry cleaner.

Method 2:

• Reverse the stained fabric on a paper towel.  With the help of a paper towel or cotton ball, blot the back of the stained area with acetone. This step transfers the mark of polish to the paper towel.
• Once you are done with the above process. Rinse the stained area thoroughly with water. Again place it reversely on a paper towel and repeat the above method of transferring the stain to the paper.
• Rinse and repeat the same until the stain is removed. If you see light traces of polish on the fabric, gently rub and remove it with a cotton ball dipped in acetone.
• Lastly, the machine washes the fabric with a stain remover. Once the fabric is dry, it must be ready to wear.

Removing nail polish from Upholstery

Upholstery is a bit tougher in terms of material than other fabrics. But you need to treat the polish spillage from your chair or couch cloth because the look of your furniture is as important as your own appearance in that favorite piece of dress. The following are the tips that can help you remove the stain from your chair or couch fabric.

Method 1:

• You will make a cleaning solution in this step. Mix 2 tablespoons of liquid soap with 2 cups of water.
• Now blot this solution on the upholstery with a piece of clean cloth until the polish stain is removed. If you see that the stain has dried up completely then push down the other side of the stained area to lift it. Doing this will help you peel off the polish easier.
• If you think that stain is tough—once the stain is all dry. Apply a little baking soda to the stain and leave it for 15-20 minutes.
• Now with the help of a clean toothbrush or cloth, scrub it gently and wash it off.

Method 2:

• Once you notice the wet nail paint on upholstery then act as soon as possible before it gets dry. Try to remove the stain with a clean cloth or paper towel as much as you can.
• Avoid pressing the stain as it will spread more on the other areas. Do short swipes with a paper towel to stop the stain to spread on the upholstery.
• Now use a cotton ball or applicator that helps you put acetone on the polish stain in a few amounts. Ensure that you apply it only to the stain. Doing a patch test on the fabric is recommended because acetone can degrade its quality.
• Use a clean cloth to rub and remove the stain carefully. Keep applying more acetone and blot the mark until it gets removed.
• Now rinse the stained area with warm water. You can use a sponge to remove the stain traces of acetone and let it dry.

Removing nail polish from carpet

Method 1:

In carpets, if you let the stain sit for a longer time then there is a high odd that it will become permanent. To avoid such a thing happening to your much-loved carpet, you will have to act quickly to remove the stain. To get rid of the dried nail polish from the carpet, follow these steps:

• Alcohol plays a big role in this step. Take some rubbing alcohol and gently blot the polish spill with the help of cotton balls or a clean cloth. You can also use detergent with lukewarm water to remove the stain even further.
• Avoid rubbing the affected area as it breaks down the fiber of the carpet.

Method 2:

• Apply cold water to the stained area. Now spray a decent quantity of hair spray on the area and apply a few splashes of rubbing alcohol.
• Scrub the stain with a toothbrush for a minute. Now directly pour cold water on the spot.
• Pour nail paint remover on the stain and continue brushing it with a scrubber or toothbrush.
• Avoid rubbing the stain, blot it gently with a clean cloth (switch to cleaner sides to prevent spreading the stain) until the stain is completely gone.  
• Use a dry vacuum on the polish spot to remove the extra liquid.
• Keep repeating this process until you get rid of the stain.

Removing nail polish from leather

Nothing can be more stressful than spilling nail paint on a costly leather jacket or boots. These are close to everyone’s heart but you need to take care of them in a special way to make them look new and maintain them in the best shape. In case you have tumbled polish on your precious leather jacket then don’t panic, just follow these methods to get rid of the stain.

Method 1:

• You can use rubbing alcohol or vinegar to get rid of the polish stain from your favorite leather jacket. Try not to use acetone because it can damage the leather or cloth with acetate.
• Take the vinegar or rubbing alcohol in a cotton ball and start rubbing the stain. Let it dry.
• Once the stain is all dried up if you see nail polish remains then peel it off.
• Now use the best leather conditioner to restore its appearance.

Method 2:

• If the polish spill is fresh then immediately scrape it off with a dull knife or small spatula in an upward motion. Continue removing it as much as possible. Be cautious using the knife as you don’t want to pierce your favorite leather.
• If the stain is fresh and wet, take a cotton ball to gently blot it until it is removed. This step prevents the stain from smearing. However, with a larger polish stain, using a paper towel for dabbing the spot is recommended. Avoid dripping water on the stain as it will run the stain.
• You can peel off the nail polish stain with your nails if it is dried. Make sure you don’t damage the leather.
• If you want to use a product to remove the mark, do a patch test on the hidden area of the fabric to avoid damaging the leather.
• You can also use rubbing alcohol to remove the mark as it causes less harm to the leather than acetone.  Soak a few amounts of rubbing alcohol in a cotton ball and remove the stain gently.
• You can also blend one tablespoon of vinegar with two tablespoons of olive oil and scrub this mixture on the stain with a clean toothbrush. Now clean it with a paper towel and let it dry. This method is the safest one when it comes to removing the polish stain from the leather.

Does nail polish leave a mark on clothes after removing the stain?

Nail paints come in a range of colors and are made up of several chemicals.  When it accidentally gets spilled on a piece of cloth or carpet it becomes hard to get rid of the mark. This is because it is more than a dye tint and removing it sometimes feels impossible. If all the above methods don’t bring the desired results (which is rare) then follow these additional tricks:

• If you don’t have to rub alcohol in your hand, use products containing it like hairspray, sanitizer, spray deodorant, or perfume.
• Once you get rid of the polish stain, add white vinegar along with the detergent to the washing cycle to remove its residue.
• Immediately wash off the stained area to prevent smearing.
• If you think that the polish mark is very deep, take the fabric to dry cleaning. Professionals use dry cleaning solvent to remove such rigid marks and it is among the most powerful tool to get rid of polish stains.

Take Away

Nail paints are designed to dry quickly and provide a long-lasting finish of color. Therefore, it is expected to panic when it drops in your favorite piece of clothing. But you can say goodbye to such stains forever till the time you don’t make the same mistake. With the above-mentioned techniques, you can get nail polish out of clothes, carpets, cushion covers, and linen.

But, avoid applying these methods to triacetate or acetate clothing to remove polish stains. This is because polish remover deteriorates the fabric containing these chemicals and no home remedies can work on such fabrics. So proceed with caution or take the stained piece of cloth to the professional dry cleaner to get rid of the stubborn mark.

Before beginning with the polish stain removal mission, read the type of fabric content of the cloth. Since wool, natural fibers, silk, triacetate, acetate, and wool are not colorfast so getting rid of nail paint marks at home is tough. You will need professional help to fix it.

Comments

comments