You’ve likely seen the coupons and offers that come in the mail, online and in newspapers.

JC Penney’s offered a $10 discount if you spent $50; a $25 discount if you spend $75.

If you spend $30 at Bath and Body Works, you can get $10 off, or get a free product if you spend $12 or more.

L.L. Bean is offering $10 off when you spend $25.

They sound like good deals, ways to stretch your holiday budget.

But before taking such offers, read the fine print, says Jackie Wiegleb of Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Maine in South Portland. Most have restrictions.

Check the date. You don’t want to get in the store, invest time in picking out your purchase and stand in line at the register, only to find the offer has expired, or it doesn’t begin until next week. The temptation there can be to buy the product, anyway. There goes the saving!

Read the offer carefully. Some, including L.L. Bean’s current offer, are gift cards for a future purchase. The store’s goal is to increase repeat shoppers.

“Some people think, ‘If I just spend a little more money, I’ll be able to get that gift card,'” Wiegleb said. “They require you to go back and go shopping another time.” That’s a good deal if you were planning to make two shopping trips. If you were not, you may spend more money than you had budgeted, Wiegleb said.

The coupons and gift card offers are becoming popular among merchants, Wiegleb said. “Part of it is to try to capture the dollar per customer, and to get customers to come back and spend more.”

As with any purchase, you have to stay within the budget you’ve developed and ask yourself whether you need the item or whether the gift receiver could use it. One recent offer was from Yankee Candle, which offered two free candles with the purchase of two. That’s a big savings, but do you need four candles?

Wiegleb’s Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Maine is a division of Money Management International. According to that group, these are ways to save when Christmas shopping:

* Make a budget on how much you can afford to spend.

* Make a list of people you will buy for, and cross yourself off that list.

* Stick to that list, and your budget.

* If you have gift cards you haven’t used, use them for someone on your list.

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