Save on holiday shipping!

Want to mail gifts to family and friends or get them to your own home by Christmas— but don’t want to spend a bundle? Here are easy ways to save on your holiday shipping!

Seek out a free shipping week!

You’ve likely heard of “Free Shipping Day” where hundreds of retailers offer free shipping that’s guaranteed to arrive by Christmas. This year, it falls on December 15th— and now there’s something even better: To compete for your business, many stores are expanding that day into an entire week or more of free shipping that’s guaranteed to arrive by Christmas! Find out more at Free Shipping.org and Offers.com/christmas.

● 2 Save on wrapping!

Buying gifts online but need to have them wrapped before they’re sent? Instead of having ‘em sent to you, wrapping them, then mailing them yourself, check for stores that offer wrapping services! Many retailers like Amazon.com and Target.com will do so for $ 6 or less per gift— and some do it at no cost! This way, you can nab the store’s free shipping while still spending less than if you mailed it yourself!

Compare rates—even if you think you know!

Usually do business with a specific shipper because you know their rates tend to be cheapest? Compare costs anyway! Not only do overall shipping prices regularly increase, some carriers tack on holiday surcharges during this time of year, which can end up costing you more than you budgeted for! To easily compare rates for Fedex, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service, visit United Stateszipcodes.org/shipping-calculator.

● Ship earlier!

Wait too long to send gifts, and you’ll be stuck paying a lot more for expedited shipping— and since this Christmas falls on a Monday and most deliveries will end two days earlier on Saturday, December 23rd, the cut-off date to nab cheaper postage is far sooner! To avoid missing the cutoff, check this year’s deadlines at the websites for the carriers you use, such as Fedex.com, UPS. com and USPS.COM. And for store deadlines, visit Deal Hack.com/holiday-shippingdeadlines and the website for the store where you’re shopping.