Today, high school students generally do not have much cash on hand to be spending, let alone to be buying gifts this holiday season for friends and family. But, with a little searching and smart shopping, students can make the most out of their money.

The real deals this season can be found in the stores Five Below, TJ Maxx, Target, and Kohl’s. These stores also have coupons online worth extra percentages off and even free gifts with purchases.

“Plan before you go, show with the sales, and use coupons,” said avid shopper Mary Charuhas.

Five Below is the bargain store of the year because of the quantity, quality, and prices of the merchandise offered. Board games, arts and crafts, sports team trinkets, and video games are all items that can be found plus more! If you’re looking for gifts for the gamer in your family, Xbox, Play Station, Nintendo DS, and Wii can be found there for five dollars or less.

“It’s a wonderful store where you can find so many gifts for your family,” said Five Below shopper Julia Zucofski.

Other discount stores such as TJ Maxx, Target, and Kohn’s are budget friendly sores to shop at over the holidays. TJ Maxx and Kohl’s are the stores to shop at for discount designer bags, shoes, and clothes all for the lowest prices you can’t find anywhere else. Currently, it you shop there, you get $10 in Kohl’s cash for every $50 spent.

“There’s some inexplicable satisfaction in finding what you need (or don’t need) for a steal. That is why we hit up sales, shop around, and fall in love with Target and TJ Maxx,” reported the Bowdoin Orient.

Try to avoid stores like Wal-Mart. Though cheap, many of their products this holiday season have been found to have manufacturing flaws.

Shopping online and searching for printable coupons is another tip for saving this holiday season. Stores tend to have sales online while they do not exist in the stores. Many times discount stores will have coupons online that can be printed out and used in stores multiple times. However, they are not always on the store’s website; you may have to search the web on other websites such as couponclippers.com.

“Even if you don’t end up buying online, it never hurts to find the best deals on the Web before you brave crowded stores. Then you can comparison shop and make better choices,” reported Cameron Huddleston.

No one wants to burn a hole in his or her pocket this holiday season and with smart shopping, no one will have to. Be alert when shopping and always be mindful that there are more deals than what meets the eye.