Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 12-16-16 Online Edition

Local
8th Annual Unwrap
Xmas Money Saving Tips
The Holidays Called
Christmas is getting close, but there’s still time to get MoneySaving before Santa’s sleigh lands. In January, many complain “I’m broke now”, so avoid this by follow- ing our sackful of tips.
Plan for affordability, not desirability: Calculate your budget and ask: “What can I afford to spend on Christmas?” Christmas is one day – don’t ruin the whole of the next year for it.
Is it time to BAN un- necessary Christmas presents?
Consider not giving next Christmas. We’re not talking about gifts from parents or to grandchildren, but the ever- widening glut of friends, ex- tended family and colleagues.
Give charity gifts: Want to give, but don’t want to waste cash? Yule love our rundown of wonderful and weird Charity Gifts, which in- cludes how much goes to good causes.
Gifts start from a few pounds and include school supplies, clean water or a livestock.
Boost funds by 4% with supermarket stamps: Supermarket sav- ing stamps schemes encour- age year-long saving for Christmas, yet a loophole al- lows you to get a year’s bonus in one day.
Save with the free Christmas IOU genera- tor: Before Christmas is the year’s costliest shopping time, January sales the cheapest. So if you’re after a big-ticket family purchase like a telly or games console... wait. Give the kids a nicely- wrapped IOU, telling them you’re waiting for the sales.
Amazon hidden gift discounts of 80%+: It’s the original e-giant, and like any megastore the challenge is to see behind the shelves to grab mega-discounts. Our Amazon Discount Finder manipulates Amazon web links to create cus- tomized bargain basement pages, such as TV 25% off*, handbags 75% off* and beauty 70% off*.
Remember – just because it’s discounted doesn’t mean it’s a bargain.
Buy a cheap turkey –
and don’t forget to down- shift
Need fast Christmas cash? Flog it
Local Facebook has been snapping at eBay’s heels as the place to flog unwanted stuff, though. The best bit is sales are often instant and there are NO fees, so you keep the profit. See Facebook Selling Tips for a how-to.
Remember, kids aren’t retail snobs: Young chil- dren don’t value your gift based on price – they often seem more interested playing with the wrapping. So don’t shell out big bucks unneces- sarily.
Get fancy perfumes for a basic price: Forget de- partment stores. A whole bunch of specialist online sellers offer perfume for a fraction of the high street price.
Find the cheapest place to buy gifts in sec- onds: The web usually smacks the high street’s bot- tom on price. To help, shop- bots are special shopping robots that search the net to find the cheapest CDs, books, games or anything else.
‘A Motown Kinda
On Sunday, December 18th, at 4 p. m., Derek Smith of SKD Entertain- ment will present his annual musical toy drive. It’s a party with a purpose.
Since 2009, Smith has been faithfully having this event and blessing the youth during the holiday season.
A philanthropist, pro- ducer, singer, songwriter, and awesome entertainer, Smith always delivers an ex- citing themed show. This year’s show, “A Motown Kinda Christmas” is a Soul and Holiday show fea- turing classics from the Mo- town Vault, Christmas Carols, and more.
A night of Jazz, Gospel, Soul and Holiday Classics is a great way to spend this Sunday afternoon. Special guests include: Natasha McKeller, Rhonda Poe,
DEREK SMITH ...8th Annual Unwrap The Holidays
Dell Savage Martinez,
and even more.
This year the event will be
held at Smith’s entertain- ment complex, The SKD En- tertainment Soundstage, located at 2501 N. Armenia Ave., Tampa (33607). The public is invited to come and enjoy great food, great fun and great folks.
Christmas’
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 7-B