Thanksgiving is coming up, so now is the perfect time to prepare your holiday shopping game plan. For those who want to avoid the packed parking lots and malls this holiday season, you’re in luck. Shopping online is easy and convenient — and the best deals and discounts are literally right at your fingertips. Each year, more people are shopping online for holiday gifts, which means that the deals are getting better every year, too. Here’s a list of some online shopping hacks that will help you through the holiday season (and beyond).
1. Make a list. One of the easiest ways to overspend during the holiday season is to start shopping without a plan. When you don’t have any idea of which items you are looking for, or the budget you should stick to, you can get carried away and lose focus on the task at hand. Avoid impulse buys and take your time to get organized. Browse online gift guides for ideas. You can even find ones that are categorized by age, interests and price range. Plan ahead, create a budget and make a shopping list to stay on track and get everything you need without overspending. One free shopping list app that can help is called Santa’s Bag. It organizes the people on your shopping list and can even give each person an individual budget.
2. Stack your rewards. Once your shopping list is ready, start looking for ways to save money. Check out cash back and coupon websites to earn money back on your online purchases while you take advantage of the best deals on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the rest of the holiday season. You can stack even more savings by using a rewards credit card to pay for your items (just make sure to pay it in full when the bill arrives).
[See: 9 Ways to Save When Holiday Shopping With Credit Cards.]
3. Stay notified. Keep connected with your favorite stores on their social media channels. By following and liking their pages, you will always be updated with the latest deals, and you might even get access to special discounts for fans. You can turn on notifications for the stores you follow and know immediately when a new deal gets posted. Another way to get exclusive deals is to sign up for a store’s email newsletter.
[See: 10 Money-Saving Websites to Check Before Shopping.]
4. Discounted gift cards. Gift cards are a great option if you don’t know exactly what to get someone. But did you know that you can buy gift cards for less than their face value? Websites like Cardpool offer gift cards that you can buy online for discounted prices. They even allow you to sell gift cards that you have, but will most likely never use, and customize new cards to the stores you like. You can’t go wrong with a gift card that’s worth more than you paid for it.
5. Free Shipping Day and store pick-up. When shopping online, one of the biggest letdowns is getting to the checkout and realizing that shipping is way more expensive that you expected. Some stores will offer free shipping if you spend a minimum amount, but if you have already gotten everything you need, buying something extra can be frustrating. Fortunately, every year around the holidays there is a Free Shipping Day, which falls on Dec. 16 this year. Take advantage of this “holiday” and save some of your last-minute shopping for this day. It’s great for gifts you forgot, or even stocking stuffers that wouldn’t reach the typical minimum amount. You can also get free shipping by opting to pick up your online purchases at a store’s physical location.
[See: 12 Ways to Be a More Mindful Spender.]
6. Compare prices. It’s never fun to make a purchase, then later find the same item somewhere else for much cheaper. Avoid doing that this year by using a price comparison tool. Next time you shop online, use one of many comparison websites to quickly scan the prices of different items and make sure you are shopping at the store with the lowest price.
Try some of these online shopping hacks to make your holiday season fun, easy and — best of all — frugal.
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6 Hacks for Holiday Shopping Online originally appeared on usnews.com
