Monday, December 1, 2008

Cyber Monday!

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!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I haven't even begun my Christmas shopping & the thought is making me cringe!!!! LOL With the economy the way it is going we all agreed to buy for the kids BUT considering I have 14 neices & nephews, 2 stepkids Plus my best friends son this really doesn't help me! LOL
Oh and did I mention that my stepdaughters birthday is Dec 31st AND my stepsons is January 3rd??? LOL
Thanks for these tips though they really really help!
Good Luck with your Christmas shopping everyone!

Nikki_T said...

While you are shopping online Brooke don't forget to use www.igive.com or www.goodshop.com and choose Hip Hop 4 Life (www.hiphop4lifeonline.com) as your charity. It is an easy way to support a good charity organization, in fact you can choose any charity that is registered. Plus you can get additional coupons to all of the stores websites when you use these portals!

Happy Shopping everyone!

Anonymous said...

couponcodes.com is also a good site to check out...they update their site everyday to ensure the latest codes actually work.

It was soooo hard for me this Thanksgiving! I basically just ate really really REALLY SLOWLY! I also drank a glass of tea right before...

I feel you on the no-bonus-this-year thing. That $$ is basically my plane ticket home! I have no idea how I'm going to pull this off. I guess I'll discover the "other" true meaning of Christmas - instead of giving, I'm just chill-axing with the fam!

Brooke said...

Hey, I'm sure just having you there with them is a gift in and of itself. Go be with your family and don't stress over what to get them....they want YOU! :-)

Thanks for the reminder Nic Nac about Hip Hop 4 Life. I have it set up already, so I'll remember to click when I shop today.

Annamaria, I thought I had it bad! 14 nieces and nephews and 2 stepkids??? That's buffoonery! :-) But I guess with 8 brothers, I get it. DANG!!!! Your ass is gonna be BRIZZOKE!

By the way, I saw Madagascar 2 this past weekend, so every word I say has a "z" in it or everything is "crackalackin" :-) thanks to Chris Rock, LOL!!

Anonymous said...

THANKS FOR THE SYMPATHY! LOL I APPRECIATE IT & NEED IT! lol
Considering I'm already brizzoke I don't know how much worse it can possible get? lol

Keefe said...

I skimmed through today's blog because "massa" is working me to death. But from what I gather, you were highlighting ways to save money this holiday season.

The best way to save money is to do what I did. I sat the kids down (2 years old and 9 months) and told them "yall aint getting ish for Christmas." BOOM!!! Instant savings!!! :-)

Rene The Harlemite said...

Thanks for the info. Brooke. Yeah, Black Friday is a bit too much. I love to shop but it's way too much... I went my mom to get a Flat Screen and a Blue Ray DVD. It was a ZOO!
I am a ficused shopper and when there are a bunch of people that are not focused it can be irksome at times...

Keep up the good work Liz.

Congrats to Brooke on the Eagles win and Dre on the Ravens.

Brooke-We'll see you this Sunday!

Dre-Remember the Titans!

I'm gone!

Brooke said...

All I have to say about football is - what da hell? Remember last week's blog about wackness and buffoonery? Your boy Plaxico takes the cake! See y'all Sunday!

Keefe...now you know good and well you will be getting those girls something, so stop playin.

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