Get your credit card ready, it’s almost Cyber Monday! For those of you who aren’t akin to the wonders of this “holiday,” it’s like Black (or Green) Friday for online shoppers. Almost every site offers free shipping and extreme discounts! Here are a few tips to get you ready:
1. Plan ahead. Make a list of your friends and family you will be getting gifts for this holiday season. Write an idea or a general theme next to their names (ex: Mom—jewelry). Also, look for ways to save money—splitting a gift for mom with your siblings, or holding a grab bag or Secret Santa among friends, roommates, or siblings. Note this on your list so you don’t forget.
2. Register for e-bates! This is the best site I have come across for online deals. How it works: you register, then shop away! The site is affiliated with nearly every online shopping site you could ever want to order from. Find that store through the search bar on e-bates, click, then shop. Once your order has been processed and charged to your credit card, you get cash back from e-bates. The cash back percentage varies depending on the store. You are literally getting paid to shop.
3. Put items in your cart before Cyber Monday. Find items for the people on your list and add them to your “cart” on that website. Leave the items in your cart until Cyber Monday, when the sales will be extreme and shipping is almost always free. Some sites will require you to put in a “promo code” at checkout. The codes are displayed on e-bates and on the stores website.
4. Don’t wait! Make sure you stay up until midnight on Sunday, Nov. 27, so you can purchase items before they sell out.
5. Treat yourself. If you’ve been waiting for a dress, purse, shoes, or anything to go on sale, buy it on Cyber Monday. Don’t hesitate to treat yourself for all of your hard work. Cyber Monday is the one day a year when I don’t have shopper’s guilt, and I’m passing this along to you. You cannot beat the sales on Cyber Monday.