How to Score Designer Gifts for Yourself

What if I told you my favorite designer gifts didn’t cost me anything?  Take, for instance, my newest designer purse.   No, I didn’t steal it. It was a gift from myself. What if I told you I like to use my Chase Freedom card to earn rewards for myself? One way to achieve financial success is to spend your money more effectively. It is imperative to use your rewards to your advantage. I shared how I use the Chase Freedom Mobile App to help me keep my spending on track. What I didn’t share is why that is so important. Consider this, you have money to spend that you have budgeted for the holiday, but the problem is you didn’t budget for yourself. I mean, it is the time of year to indulge, but we must stick to a budget!

I am going to share a couple of tricks that help me do just that. The trick to being debt free is using your money to get everything you want.

Tips and Tricks to Score Designer Gifts for Yourself

I have my money set aside for others … so where am I finding this chunk of change for my purse?

1) Well, that is easy. Chase Freedom pays you back on the purchases you are making. Chase Freedom will offer cardholders 10% cash back on up to $1,500 in new purchases from Amazon.com, Zappos.com, Diapers.com and Audible.com through December 31, 2015. Learn more about the offer here. I spend $500 during the holidays on the sites above so that is $50 right there. 

2) The tracking of your money. It helps you stay within your budget, and it can help you spend less of your budget. The less you spend on them, the more you can spend on you! I saved $35 using this method. I was able to cut my costs on certain gifts by having my list in front of me with the money I had to spend on it. I simply put the amount I didn’t spend in another column for me.

3) Using rewards credit cards like Chase Freedom gives you rewards to use later. A survey commissioned by Chase Freedom found that 77% of shoppers who have rewards credit cards say they are likely to treat themselves to something special with the rewards they earn buying holiday gifts for others. I suggest using the rewards you earn after the holiday season so you can get the item on sale and then you can use the rewards you earned gifting others. That is a win-win! P.S.: Buy yourself the gift that everyone else forgot and the one you really wanted as long as it is in the budget. If not the rewards do not vanish; just keep using your Chase Freedom card to continue towards your goal. I used my card like I normally do for gas, groceries, movie tickets, dining out, and car repairs (I had budgeted for them). That helped me out with more cash towards my all “about me gift.”

4) You can use the new mobile app to make purchases with your rewards. If you get money off of a product that you were already going to buy, you can save the cash back in a rainy day fund or in my case, a pair of shoes to wear in the rain. For me, I went to a store that Chase Freedom partnered with and was able to purchase a purse using cash back rewards, and pay at point of sale with the Chase Freedom Mobile App. I think it is important to have a goal and since I budget and manage my money, I see no reason not to splurge on a gift for myself. I am not alone according to Chase Freedom’s recent survey.

5) Budget and you can buy what you want. I looked at last years’ spending on my credit cards and bank statements and created my new budget using that data. I looked at my cars, house, and potential medical costs and put those amounts away for each month. I prepare and as a result, I can splurge. It is perfectly acceptable to save for something you want but do not need. Chase Freedom gives you the tools to do what you have to do with what you have to get what you need and want.

Chase shared this fun infographic with me. What do you think are they true or false?

• 85% of holiday shoppers surveyed ‘gift themselves’ while shopping for others
• 69% of those surveyed who gifted themselves while holiday shopping for others did not have buyer’s remorse and half (48 percent) of them even felt a sense of happiness
• 60% of holiday shoppers who have a credit card that offers rewards or points are likely to spend their rewards on gifts for others.

The survey reveals that men and women buy themselves:

• Trendy items (Male 28%; Female 42%)
• Small luxury items (Male 27%; Female 42%)
• Electronic or appliances (Male 42%; Female 18%)
• Holiday decorations (Male 20%; Female 37%)
• Game for a group (Male 24%; Female 13%)
• Fad items (Male 10%; Female 12%)

The only question I have for you is how fast can you get the designer gifts you want for yourself using your credit card rewards? Make sure to share all your designer gifts!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Chase Freedom for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.