Every Friday, I feature a fun and budget-friendly option in the Greater Boston area. The “Feature Friday” is typically mentioned on the Cheap Eats list, Free Things to Do in Boston, or Discount Attractions. However, there’s so much budget-friendly ideas on my pages, I thought it would be fun to feature something budget-friendly and different each week. Also, each Feature Friday is something I have personal experience with or took advantage of recently! Enjoy!
I have shared some of these tips in the past, but I wanted to highlight them again!
1. Have a rough idea of what people want. Write down everyone on your shopping list and jot down a few ideas that they may like & what your budget is for each person. When great deals pop-up, I sometimes forget who would be a great fit for what and may forget someone on my list momentarily. Also, I may have someone on my list that always wants something that never goes on sale (sound familiar?), so Cyber Monday is a great day to cross those people off your list. This is because many stores will offer free shipping and a percentage discount on everything. You will just need to search for what you want specifically without it popping the product on a deal finder. If you stay organized and know what people want sooner than later you can avoid paying full-price for something.
2. Know (and use!) the right resources. There are so, so many different online deal & money-saving websites that have list so many great Cyber Monday deals and use a combination of websites to find your favorites and best deals. These deal finders and resources can spark some great gift-giving ideas at rock bottom prices! Make sure to check out my How to Recognize and Find a Good Deal tip!
3. Shop Early. Just like Black Friday some of the hottest deals will sell out quickly, so think about waking up a few minutes early to see if you can snag a great buy before work. Also, if you know what people want and what a good price is, make sure to snag it! Really great deals tend to go fast, so if you really want it, make sure it buy it quick!
4. Use Cashback Sites to save more. This is one of my favorite online shopping tips because you save even more money shopping online through Cashback sites. I love getting a percentage of what I buy online back later, which helps pay for future gifts! If you are unfamiliar with cashback sites, please read my former post here for more information! I really like using Ebates and Shop At Home for cashback sites, but there really are a lot of them!
5. Don’t buy it, if you won’t use it. It can be really easy to get caught up in a good deal, but if you or your gift-getter will not wear those deeply discounted New York Jets pajama pants then why are you even buying them? Know the return and shipping policies of each store before shopping, and take a second to breathe and think if it something you really will use or will give to someone else.
6. Oh, and not everything is a great deal. Just like Black Friday, not everything on sale is a great deal. Do your research beforehand and know what is a great deal for a product you are interested in and what isn’t. For instance, typically the best time to buy jewelry is during the summer and TV’s during the Super Bowl and more. However, just because those are typically the best times to buy those things doesn’t mean you still can’t find good deals, but make sure you are able to tell the difference between a marketing ploy and a truly good deal. Also, just because a store offers free shipping and a percentage off, it may not make it a great deal, especially if the price is always cheaper at Walmart or Target who will price match.
Do your research, know your audience, and don’t worry… deals always cycle back through if you get too overwhelmed!
Do you have any Cyber Monday tips to share? Have you started your holiday shopping yet?!
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