Use your smartphone to be smart and spend less

If I can’t stop you from the spending madness that is about to take place, at least be smart about it by using your smartphone to spend less.

For years, I’ve doled out tips on safe holiday spending: Set a budget. Make a list. And cut people loose if you’re stretched financially.

So make a list. Don’t make a list.

Do a budget and then bust it. You are going to do what you want because you’re grown and all the caution in the world is ignored because Madison Avenue has one message for the holiday season: Shop and save!

You might even persuade yourself that it’s your personal duty as an American citizen to contribute to the economy by shopping. You’ll steal away hours from your employer to shop.

It’s OK. I know you want to give gifts to show people how much they mean to you — or out of obligation. So here are five tips to help during your holiday spending spree.

Don’t overload your smartphone with shopping apps. I was running out of space on my phone, and so some of my downloaded apps had to go. And the first that got the ax were the shopping-comparison ones.

Turned out I didn’t need them to take advantage of discount opportunities. When I find an item I want to purchase, I type in the product data — specific name, brand or model number — and add the word “coupon” in my search. Up pops the latest pricing information or I’ll see deals on retailmenot. com or groupon.com. Often the retailer has already done the work to match the lowest price out there.

Now, when I shop in-store, I pull up the browser on my smartphone, type in the product details and see what other retailers are offering, both in-store and online. I don’t have to use any one specific app to shop. Whether on the move with my phone or at home using my laptop, I do a general search for deals.

Take advantage of “price matching.” I love price matching. It’s when retailers promise that they will beat a competitor’s price for the same item.

The key to getting the match is making sure you have the exact item. And be prepared to show the results of your price check. Even before I head to the store, I’ll pull up the page with the price of the item, ready to make my case.

Be prepared to negotiate. Some stores don’t have an official price-matching policy. But there have been times when I’ve shown a sales associate a competitor’s price on my phone and, upon consultation with a manager, I’ve gotten the same deal.

Build in time to surf the internet while you shop in-store. Just before I go to checkout, I’ll go through my cart and search online to double check the pricing and to look for any coupons or deals I might have missed beforehand.

I’ve also found that even when I go to a store to buy a specific item, I may see something else I like better. Still, I take the time — right there in the store — to check online. If a salesperson is assisting me, I just ask for some time to do additional research.

Stop believing that a sale saves. There’s another reason to get rid of the shopping apps on your phone. You are constantly thinking about consuming.

You set alerts. You are always comparing merchandise, sale ads, etc. Your willpower is eroded by too much information.

You’re so concerned about missing a good deal that you end up spending a lot of time dashing around for discounts. You also spend more.

You’ve been conditioned that a coupon saves you money. Sales are to you like a light to a moth. But sales don’t save. You never save when you spend.

You just spend less, and even that’s relative. The actual act of “saving” involves putting money into your bank account or keeping it there.

If you don’t remember anything else this holiday season, keep this in mind: You’re not saving if you’re spending.