Black Friday came and went. Maybe you shopped til you dropped or maybe you just dropped. Have no fear if you still need gifts this year. The biggest online shopping holiday of the season is coming in hot. But, if you’re not careful you can sink your budget and waste time, too. Make Cyber Monday shopping successful with these smart moneys saving hacks.
Just a reminder, don’t forget to join The Queen of Free’s Favorite Bargains on Facebook for all of the best deals I can find for you this Cyber Monday and throughout the holiday season.
Shop Safe
Let’s begin with a little cyber safety, shall we? Anytime you’re on the Internet, you probably feel like you’re bombarded with ads. We all have heard horror stories of online shopping gone awry. While you may not be able to prevent your account from being hacked, you can take steps to shop safer online.
- Be sure to look for the little lock on the URL address bar and/or a “s” at the end of https. This gives you the reassurance that the online retailer takes steps to encrypt your information.
- Check your accounts daily. Ignoring statements is for chumps. You need to be sure to keep an eye on account balances to catch any unscrupulous activity.
- Read reviews. Even on reputable sites, there can be poorly made products. While every review is unlikely to be five stars, you can spot potential problems by watching for review patterns.
Set a Time Limit
Shopping online can turn into a never-ending rabbit hole. You start by looking for a new pair of pajamas and somehow land on a page selling robot umbrellas. It just happens. Spending unlimited time causes you to waste money AND time. If you plan on doing Cyber Monday well, you need healthy limits. Try not to jump over to a site every time your inbox dings. Set a timer and use your time well.
Stock Up on What You Use
While Cyber Monday is great for gifts, you can also leverage the special prices to purchase items you use on a regular basis. I often hit the ULTA Cyber Monday sale for both gifts and skin care products I know I’ll use for months. Whether it’s household goods or personal care items, you can make the most of free shipping and full site discounts by looking for what you truly need and use.
Set Your Filters
Hooray for the Internet. It can actually help you shield your eyes from the things you can’t afford Especially on Amazon, working those little toggles in the sidebar will help you eliminate the colors, sizes, and brands that you don’t want while zeroing in on those you love. Pro Tip: I almost always set the price range to display from Low to High too so that I don’t even see items that are beyond my budget.
One last tip: check out the Best Sellers or Movers and Shakers on Amazon, too (you will usually see the option within a particular department). For instance, in the screenshot below, I was looking at Amazon Best Sellers in Toys & Games. The little green arrows indicate an increase in sales and the red indicate they have moved down in rank. Typically, deal bloggers sharing the best prices shoot items up the rankings.
Set Up a Cash Back Account
Online cash back sites like Ebates, Swagbucks, or Sunshine Rewards reward you with cash back simply for clicking through their site before you head to all of the online retailers you love. Percentages of cash back usually increase on Cyber Monday so don’t forget to make this step one of your shopping process. Bonus points: you’ll be able to find more coupon codes on the cash back site for all of the stores you love.
Stack Your Coupons
Some online retailers allow you to stack more than one coupon together so that you can maximize your savings. For instance, Kohl’s allows you to add four coupons and up to six Kohl’s Cash offers. By the way, that Kohl’s Cash you may have earned on Black Friday becomes active on 11/24 and you can use it through 12/5. Also note that Kohl’s often auto adds coupons to your cart but they’re not always the highest value. JCPenney also allows you to use a discount code (percentage off), rewards, and free shipping codes all three at the same time. Always make sure to look for a coupon code and don’t be afraid to try more than one.
Start a Live Chat
Not able to find a coupon code? Open a live chat and ask if there’s one available that you’ve missed. There might not be any out there, but the customer service rep might have special codes available to those who ask kindly.
Let’s make Cyber Monday shopping work for us this year! Don’t waste time or Monday. If you’re shopping this Cyber Monday and looking for a deal, share what you need in the comments and I’ll see what I can do to help!
Our new book Your Money, Your Marriage is now available! Be sure to check out videos on managing money together on Facebook.
My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out The Debt Free Devotional
This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal, learn about a way to save, or maybe even something for free, I may end up making a small commission. All prices are subject to change.
