Ten tips to stretch your gift budget

Did you get all your holiday shopping done on the long weekend after Thanksgiving?

If you did, this column isn’t going to be all that helpful to you. If you’ve still got some shopping to do, read on.

Here are 10 money-saving shopping tips from the office of Rob McKenna, the state attorney general.

· Bring the ads. Take the ads with you to the store and make sure the price you pay matches up with the ad price before you leave.

· Treat gift cards like cash. Stores typically don’t replace gift cards that have been lost or stolen. Write down the card numbers and keep them safe as well as the cards. Keep your sales receipts to show the cards with those numbers were activated. And if the store allows it, register your card on its Web site.

· Don’t wait on rebates. Many people lose their rebate form or proof of purchase, and lots of rebates go unclaimed. Read the fine print. Fill out the forms and do everything promptly to make sure you get the money back.

· Know return policies. Check the store’s Web site to know its return policy. Even if you don’t meet all the conditions, ask the manager if he or she will make an exception. Managers sometimes do, especially for good customers.

· Keep receipts. For gifts, ask for a gift receipt and enclose it with the present. If you don’t have a receipt, many stores will refund the lowest price at which an item was sold. Gift receipts won’t show the price, but they will show when the item was purchased.

· Save warranties. Printed copies of warranties make it easier to negotiate refunds or exchanges if there’s a problem or you need to exchange the product.

· Be timely with returns. Most merchants have a deadline for returns. If you miss it, you may miss the chance for a refund or store credit.

· Check recall notices. This is especially important for children’s products to ensure they’re safe. Go to www.recalls.gov before you buy a child’s gift.

· Check video game ratings. It’s up to parents and other givers of video games to ensure they are age-appropriate for the recipient. “This Christmas, when your kid makes a list, check it twice for video games — and make sure to review the rating on each game to know which ones are right for your kids,” McKenna said. You can do that through the Entertainment Software Ratings Board Web site: www.esrb.org.

· Shop online on secure Web sites. That helps ensure that your personal and financial information is transmitted safely. Secure sites begin with “https” and have a small padlock at the bottom of the page. McKenna also recommending that people use a credit card online rather than a debit card to make sure that your checking account isn’t affected if something goes wrong. Credit card payers can reverse a payment if something does go wrong.