Brookey's Cafe Blog

Happy Cyber Monday everyone!

I hope you all had a blessed, peaceful, restful Thanksgiving. I did! Well, I rested as much as possible while visiting with my family - including 2 very rambunctious nephews! Those boys don't sit still unless they're asleep - but I love it! I miss them already!

Their energy is most apparent in the mall - Yikes! Yes, I did it - I shopped Black Friday. And I normally don't...or at least I try not to. I'm not a shopaholic. I don't frequent malls unless I have something specific to buy. The only store you might say I'm hooked on is Target - and that's because it's usually one stop shopping for me. But shopping just to be shopping? No...I don't do that. And I REALLY don't do CROWDED. But I braved the after Thanksgiving shopping weekend with ease - even if my nephews did terrorize everyone in all the stores :-)

I am shopping for kids this year and that's it. And the only thing I have to say to all my friends is, "STOP HAVING ALL THESE DANG KIDS!" LOL!! I have 2 nephews, a Godson, and my two best friends have 5 children between them - one of which has a birthday the week before Christmas.

Considering we're not getting our annual holiday bonus this year at A&E, I have to shop smarter. I think knowing I'd have less money to play with gave me the courage to brave the crowds on Black Friday in order to find a deal. I got most of my shopping done, but I still have a few things left to get - which I will be doing today on Cyber Monday. Just in case any of you are interested, here are some tips for shopping online today:

Use CyberMonday.com and dealio.com to stay on top of all of the Cyber Monday deals across the web, including information about free shipping offers and coupons.

If you plan to shop at a particular retailer, be sure to sign up for their e-newsletter - It's a good way to stay abreast of special deals and promotions, and a great way to score special subscriber-only coupons.

Shop at Sites that Offer Free Shipping
Many, but not all, stores offer free shipping on Cyber Monday; so spend some time looking for those free shipping deals. Don’t see free shipping offered on the site that you're on? Then, check a competitor's site.

Seek Out Coupon Codes
Head to currentcodes.com, retailmenot.com or one of the many other sites dedicated to finding and posting coupon codes. You may just find a deal – free shipping, free merchandise, a percent off your order – to sweeten the pot.

Bonus Tip: Bookmark Retailmenot.com. Then, the next time you're shopping online, just click on the link, and it'll display all of the coupons for the site that you're on – now that's bargain shopping made easy!

Order through a Rewards Site
Access a store's website through a rewards site, and you'll earn points or even cash for your efforts. Some rewards sites worth checking out: Upromise, MyPoints, FatWallet and Ebates.

Compare Prices
Before you place an order, use a price comparison website like pricegrabber.com to make sure you're getting the best deal.

Use a shopping search engine that pulls data from a wide variety of stores and vendors. Search engines like froogle.com and shopzilla.com give you results from tens of thousands of online stores and let you find the lowest price. If your search engine keeps coming back with the same seven or eight results, you know it's only listing stores and companies who pay to be listed.

Buy electronics now. Wait to buy clothing. The hottest electronic items sell out and manufacturers just can't make enough to get back on the shelves before the holidays. But if you're looking to buy clothing, wait. It will continue to be marked down the closer we get to the holidays, and you don't have to worry about it selling out. In general, industry experts say retailers are going to make markdowns earlier than last season because they hope to get shoppers buying before they get hit with their first big winter heating bill.

Finally - print out all receipts and be careful with your credit card information. If you're shopping online at work, don't leave printed out receipts in the printer and make sure you're using a secure site.

I hope those tips help - Happy Shopping!

-b

Oh wait!! Here's an update on Liz! I think I gained like 5 lbs over the long weekend. And to make matters worse, my sister packed up all the food that was left over and gave it to me to take home - including half of one of the vanilla bean cheesecakes I made! So if anyone wants to come over for dinner, feel free! Go Liz!