You want deals when you're shopping. Who doesn't? But sometimes it takes a little work.
Consumer Reports came up with some great ideas to help make your money last this holiday season:
- Do as Santa does. Make a list and check it twice. That includes creating a budget and sticking to it.
- Websites like www.blackfriday.com, www.dealnews.com, and www.bradsdeals.com scour the ads for you. Consumer Reports’ website www.consumerreports.org can be a helpful tool, too.
- Of course, you want to compare prices. There are websites that you can use at home or apps you can use right there in the stores that make it fast and easy. Shopzilla, Google Shopping and Pricegrabber are just a few.
- If you are going to shop a lot in one store, downloading their app may mean on-the-spot alerts for new sales while you shop.
- If you like a particular brand or retailer, make sure that you are following them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. These are all channels in which they are going to be advertising their latest sale.
- If you’re shopping online, don’t forget to search for and use a promo code, too. A simple Google search can turn one up leading to a discount or free shipping.
- Try using the chat feature to ask for available discounts. Abandoning your digital shopping cart for a while sometimes results in an emailed offer for a discount.
Happy shopping. I hope you get all the deals you want and more!
(KSAT12) Photo: Getty/Ariel Skelley