Guest Author - Guido Deboeck

Throughout the year you have been learning on investing in the stock markets and if you learned your lessons well you are now seeing the results in your portfolio. You easily beat the return of the S&P500 or even the Dow, so it is time to reward yourself and do some shopping…

Why not shop like an investment pro? Make shopping this year another investment experience.

Start by making a list of gift ideas for every person you plan to give a gift. Go over that list several times; use the catalogues that come in the mail to estimate the costs and allocate your shopping budget. Keep only the most innovative ideas because, a gift should be a surprise, like WOW, and not like “another necklace (or tie)?”

Maybe you like to make a trip to the local shopping mall, but if you do, remember... that is where you pay full price!!! No smart investor pays full price: there is always the bid and the ask; and the ask is the full retail price, which you do not want to pay. You want to shop at the bid or the wholesale price. Make your trip to the mall, if you really must, to enjoy the atmosphere and to see others pay full price…

Back at home check out the items on your gift list on ebay. Not all goods on ebay are used or secondhand. There are plenty of ebay stores where you can find more competitive prices than in the shopping malls. The margins on ebay are smaller and clearly vendors on ebay do not have the huge overheads as the brick and mortar stores in the malls.

You can do even better (and get more gifts for the same or lesser money) if you focus all your shopping this year (and in the coming years) exclusively on stores that sell goods that are helping women. For example, e-maginativegifts is an online retail store that offers products made by women from around the world.

e-maginativegifts is an e-business that focuses on importing handmade, high quality products made by women artisans and women cooperatives around the world. e-maginativegifts sells these products on EBAY (through auctions and through an EBAY store) as well as through a dedicated store on the web. e-maginativegifts has expanded from just a few products in 2000 to over 350 different products today.

You will be able to find in this online store women accessoires, jewelry, jackets, handbags, scarves, baby and children dresses, gloves and hats etc imported from 20+ countries around the world.

Any purchases made at e-maginativegifts helps poor women artisans to gain employment, higher income, support their children. Purchases can be made on-line and all orders made before December 18th will still reach you before Christmas (with US Priority mail).

Shop like a pro, never pay full price, and let your purchases help others to enjoy this Christmas season. Happy Holidays!