Money Sense Tips

Even if you braved the weather, the lines and the crowds on Black Friday or decided to skip this shopping day of insanity all together, more deals are headed your way the Monday after Thanksgiving, also known as Cyber Monday.

Hundreds of thousands of folks across the country will be on their laptops in their jammies, at their desk at work or sitting in their favorite coffee shop searching for those rock-bottom prices from the convenience of their computers.

Whether you are sitting comfortably at home or safely at work, don’t let a sense of security let you forget to protect yourself. What keeps you safe from hackers, unreliable websites or computer viruses–those grinches of the world wide web– out to steal all your holiday joy? How do you keep from getting ripped off while trying to score the best deals across the Internet for your holiday gift giving?

Here are five simple tips that might help you save yourself, your identity and your wallet from some of the evil traps set by Cyber Monday villains across the globe.

1. Make your computer a fortress – Get started on the right foot by having your computer ready to go with the most recent security updates, spam filters and spyware available. Avoid letting any unwanted visitors peak into your personal information by making sure you are well-protected even before you make a purchase.
2. Do your homework – Research products you intend to buy to make sure you are getting items with great reviews and at the best price. Some deals might just be too good to be true, and unknown brands or ones without reviews sometimes aren’t always the best way to go.
3. Keep your identity safe – Read the privacy policy before buying. According to the Better Business Bureau , if the site doesn’t have a privacy policy, it’s a warning that your info might be sold without your permission.
4. Pay attention – Even with other safety measures in place, don’t skimp on the times you read your credit card statement. Check often and make sure there are no suspicious charges or overcharges after you’ve made your final purchases.
5. File away for future reference – Those confirmation emails are not spam. Don’t delete! The numbers they contain will come in handy in case you don’t receive your order, get the wrong size or want to cancel your purchase. Keep the emails and keep your confirmation numbers oragnized just in case you run across any problems.

With all of the retailers lowering their prices in anticipation for Black Friday, how are you to know which sales are the good sales and which ones are not so great? The only way you can determine which sales are good and which ones to avoid is to do your planning in advance and watch the flyers for the drop in prices.

Knowing which sales are good and which sales are not so good can be a chore, especially if you have to research several different stores in your area or online. However, it can be made easy by frequenting a website dedicated to listing all of the sales ads of major retailers. A very popular website to visit is bfads.net. This website lists all of the ads of the major retailers so you can do all of your research in one place.

Retailers will offer a certain markdown or percentage off items on Black Friday in the hope of luring shoppers in. However, not all markdowns and sales are created equal. Some stores only offer the markdown for a specific period of time, for example 6am – 10am on Black Friday, thus ensuring that the early bird gets the worm.

One great way to determine which sales are worth your time is to view competitor ads. One store may be offering 30% off while another store is only offering 25% off of the same item. You can shop by comparing items on the Cyber Monday website – www.cybermonday.com. Cyber Monday is an extension of Black Friday shopping, mostly offered by retailers online. However, the deals are just as good if you know where to look. Perusing the available websites will help you discover the great sales.

Knowing where to find the best deals requires a bit of legwork. Fortunately, in this era that does not mean scanning the flyers as they come in by the truckload (although you can still shop that way; it’s just going to take a bit longer). Many websites have been created in the last several years that make it easy to do your comparison shopping. Take advantage of these websites and you can make sure you are getting the best deal on the market this Black Friday.