140 Shopping Days Left

Yes, the pools are still open, and it's still so hot and steamy outside that your glasses fog over every time you step out of the office for a bite to eat.

In the personal finance world, though, it's high time to plan for the holidays.

We all love the holidays, even if we could do without the silly songs, blatant consumerism and family friction. No one can deny that all those dinners and parties and gift exchanges ride up on the pricey side.

For the past couple of years, we Americans have been spending about $450 billion with the retail industry during our winter holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. That's down from what we were spending when the Joneses were still current on their mortgage, but it's still enough money to warrant a bit of forethought before tossing it into the open registers at the shopping malls.

-MAKE A LIST, CHECK IT TWICE. Don't wait until the first snow day to decide how much money to spend on gifts for Aunt Bethany and Cousin Eddie. Instead, sit down this weekend and sketch out a preliminary gift list and holiday budget. Keep it in your pocket, your purse, your smart phone -- wherever it's accessible so that, when you're out exercising the ol' purse strings, you can do a quick check of the price of the items on your list. Soon you'll have a good feel for what's a good price for the items on your list and what's not.

Plus, coupon codes and price drops happen every day. If you're watching prices online or letting a group of gifts hang out in your cart on an online retailer's Web site, chances are you'll snag a top-secret deal, freeing up some of that money budgeted for gifts for extra eggnog.

-CHOOSE HANDMADE. Last year, I made my holiday gift list as the summer came to a close in mid-August. I then picked up my pointy sticks and knit like mad for four months, managing to make each member of my family and all of my closest friends handmade gifts for Christmas. Hand-knitted stuff goes over big during the holidays, but it's not necessary to spend upwards of 16 hours and, if you like knitting with quality yarns, twice that number in dollars on each gift.

According to Tulsa handmaker Cristi Martin of Felix & Jayne fame, a personalized, handmade gift can cost as little (or as much) as you like and still retain a high posh factor.

Start with a basket snagged on sale. Maybe dress it up a bit with some pretty silver spray paint. As the growing season ends, stock up on fruit with which to make jam during one of the cool, breezy fall days ahead. Borrow a few family recipes from Grandma and do your best rendition of her banana bread and peppermint bark. Throw in a homemade, luxury bath salt or lip balm for the ladies on the list (find Cristi's favorite recipes for bath products at marthastewart.com), and you have a charming gift basket on your hands.

Another idea from the Felix & Jayne studio: It's easy to find journals and photo albums marked down at discount retail outlets like Ross, and it's just as easy to personalize those items with found decorations and a few photos. With this idea, it's easy to put together a thoughtful holiday gift for $5 or less.

-BE A SALES SLEUTH. Thanks to all the kids trudging back to school, computers and all that they imply are on the markdown right now. Bikes go on sale later in the fall, as well as grills and appliances as cooking moves indoors and new models hit the showroom floors. TVs, stereos and other electronics are easy to snag at rock-bottom prices on Black Friday.

If you're of the opinion that gift cards aren't real gifts -- that they're impersonal, the easy way out -- think again. Consider that, with a gift card, your recipient has his or her pick of the post-holiday sales during which deep discounts are posted on everything from clothes to electronics to food processors. When you buy gift cards, your gift dollar is almost sure to go further, a feat of economics anyone on the profitable end of gift giving should appreciate.

-PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE CASH COW. According to the NRF, about one third of consumers pulled out the plastic when they pushed their carts full of holiday gifts up to the register. Granted, that number is down from the number of consumers who relied on credit to get through the 2007 holiday season, but we could do even better by budgeting for gifts now rather than coming up so short in December. Even if $10 per week is all you can manage from now until the week of Dec. 14 (the week before Christmas 2009), that's still nearly $200 in interest-free cash to spend on gifts. Surely the thought of one less credit card bill is worth one less trip through the drive-thru each week from now until turkey time.

-SHOP LOCAL OR SHOP ONLINE. If you're sitting across from someone as you read this article, chances are one of the two of you will do at least some of your holiday shopping online, the NRF says.

For the most popular gifts in 2008 -- clothing, books, CDs, DVDs, videos or video games, toys and electronics -- there are mountains of deals to be had on the Net. Sign up for the e-mail newsletters of your friends' and family members' favorite stores for tons of coupons and sneak peaks into sales, including the jackpot friends-and-family discount deals.

Check out these sites, too: GottaDeal.com, "an amazing site and a treasure trove of electronic coupon codes, price drop notices and Black Friday ad leaks -- you'll get addicted," according to Sarah Roe, who blogs at 918CouponQueen.com; SlickDeals.net; and RetailMeNot.com for more coupon codes than even Santa himself can handle.

Speaking of Black Friday, here's a tip from the 918 Coupon Queen on how to come out on top on the big day: Before setting out for Black Friday sales, know your store policies. Take price adjustments, for example. Target will adjust the price -- meaning, if an item goes on sale a set amount of time after you purchase it, you can present your receipt for a refund of the difference between the full price you paid and the sale price currently posted at the store -- of any item within 14 days.

A fun activity is to prowl the Internet for leaked Black Friday ads and head to your nearest Target the week before Black Friday, when the crowds are at least semi-manageable. Then your task on the biggest day of the year for the retail folk won't be so much to get through the doors first at the risk of your very life, but rather to stroll at your leisure to the customer service desk with a wad of receipts and an open hand.

"I tell people that if prices drop, don't feel like you have to buy extra stuff to put with it," Roe said. "Be free to save money. It doesn't help your budget if you get a great deal and then go out and spend more because you feel like you have to make up for it."