I love Mondays. I was born on a Monday. One of favorite mantras is, “Mondays are for planning and prosperity.” Annually, there is a certain Monday that consistently makes all my last minute Christmas shopping dreams come true. That Monday is Cyber Monday.
My oldest, best friend and I spent many years napping after our Thanksgiving meals, sometimes traveling up to two hours away from home, and camping out in parking lots just to take advantage of Black Friday deals. Those were great, adrenaline-filled times, yet none of them were as satisfying as even the most uneventful Cyber Monday. Here are some of my favorite ways to make Cyber Monday great:
- Get comfy. If you’re lucky enough to be off on Cyber Monday, curl up in your favorite jammies with your favorite snack and get busy on the internet. You’ll find that creating an organized, comfortable space will make your online shopping experience a breeze!
- Subscribe to your favorite stores’ email lists. It’s a fact that spam emails are a thorn in everyone’s side, but they don’t have to be. Consider creating an email just for your store subscriptions that you can check before big shopping trips. This will ensure that you’re up to date, and can take advantage of sales each time you shop. This will also help you create your plan of attack for Cyber Monday.
- Research deals from different stores. In this world, there are two kinds of people: those who shop at Walmart, and those who shop at Target. I encourage you to be both of those people on Cyber Monday. Look for the best sale price on the item of your choice on a site like priceblink.com. Don’t forget to check retail locations that may not be in your area, or those who operate solely online like Amazon.
- Make sure to find out if your deal is valid at a specific time of day. Many sites offer Cyber Monday door busters, which start at different times throughout the day. If you miss a sweet deal at a certain time, don’t get in a tizzy! Some sites make the deal available as customers return gifts, or leave them in their shopping baskets without checking out. Be patient and diligent. Don’t be afraid to call customer service.
- Shop at reputable sites. As much as the best is deal is our goal, holiday identity theft is much worse than Santa’s lump of coal. Make sure that your checkout page has a secure connection. Most browsers will show a lock in the URL bar, at either the left or right end. Pay through PayPal where possible, to add another level of protection between hackers and your bank information. Lastly, make sure your passwords are strong. Adding a capital letter and a few numbers could be the difference between a miracle on 34th Street or a nightmare on Elm.
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