Sensible Holiday Spending

Today, one of our dedicated users asked the question, “Can I use BreadVault for my Christmas shopping list?” Indeed, you can!

Before you visit your local Target or Wal-Mart this weekend to pick out your kids’ Halloween costumes in the aisle adjacent to the Christmas section, do yourself a favor and set up all of your family members on BreadVault. Then, set one more tab titled “Christmas List” and set the allocation slider all the way to 100% for Save.  With a dedicated BreadVault channel in place, you now have a mobile way to store your holiday gift-buying goals and a place to track your progress towards saving for them all on one screen.

This is also a great opportunity to test out the BreadVault bookmarklet on the website. The bookmarklet is a slick way to add savings goals for desired gifts that you discover on any retailer’s website. It’s super quick to install: just drag and drop into your toolbar and you are on your way toward sensible holiday shopping.  For those familiar with Pinterest…if you know how to “Pin It”, you’ll easily catch on to our own “Add a Goal” tab.

If you have downloaded the BreadVault app on your iPhone or iPad (mini version coming, we hear), be sure to search through our “save” carousel if you are short on ideas. Finally, if you choose to hit the mall, bring your iPhone and use the barcode reader on our app to scan and save ideas you see at the store. Don’t make impulse buys!  (We’d encourage you to adopt this barcode scan strategy year-round.  We call it the “Parent Pain Relief” button.  It will save you and your kids a ton of money on ill-advised purchases.)

Hopefully, using the BreadVault “save” channel will help you avoid the stress of holiday expenses. Just plan ahead by earmarking some of your income out of your next three or four paychecks to pay for the items and price shop for the best deals for the desired gifts. You will be much happier in the New Year if you do.

Happy Sensible Shopping!

Ross Almlie, CEO of BreadVault