Gone are the days where you had to camp outside of your favorite store just to be one of the first people in the door on Black Friday. These days, there is really no reason to even leave your house. Instead wait, and take advantage of the sales on Cyber Monday!

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I actually still like venturing out on Black Friday but it’s mostly just to people watch. I do most of my holiday and Christmas shopping on Cyber Monday now.

Here are my top tips for saving money this holiday season.

Research Black Friday Deals Ahead of Time

• A lot of stores start their Black Friday deals early so make sure you know when your favorite store is starting theirs.
• Also, make sure to research prices ahead of time so that you know you’re getting the best deal.
• Use websites like BlackFriday.com to scope out the sales before they begin.
• Sites like Ebates also list Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.

Keep Track of Deals

• Create an excel spreadsheet to keep track of your list of gifts and where to find the best prices.
• If using a spreadsheet is a little too much for you, at least jot down the best prices and where to find them. That way you’re not scrambling on the day trying to re-locate deals.

Download this free Black Friday planner sheet!

Pay Attention to Sales Throughout November

Stores are getting wise to our Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping habits. In order to keep dollars coming in all month long, many stores run “Black Friday” deals throughout the month. Sometimes these “deals” are legit, sometimes they are just mini-sales and the big savings will come on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Don’t give in to a November sale unless you’re sure that the price advertised is as low as it’s going to go.

If you’re looking at a really high-dollar gift, make a spreadsheet and keep track of the price throughout the month. If it drops below your spending limit, it might be time to jump. Me personally? I will still wait for Black Friday/Cyber Monday.

Shop in Store and On-line

• Some stores have online only sales. Others have special in-store only deals. Find out which stores have the things you want and where they’ll be when you do your research.

Don’t Forget to Use Ebates!

• If you’re doing ANY online shopping, don’t forget to use Ebates! Sign up for free here and start out with a $10 credit.
• Ebates will send you a percentage of what you spent online. It’s sent in the form of a check or deposited in your PayPal account. It’s totally legit. I’ve been earning from Ebates for years.

Sign Up for a Free 30 Day Amazon Prime Account

• Sign up here for a free 30 day trial Amazon Prime Account. Amazon hosts amazing deals on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and really all throughout the holiday season. Take advantage of the lightning fast Prime shipping with the free trial. Amazon offers AMAZING Cyber Monday deals. Make sure you have your free Prime membership in place before the sales start!

Sign Up for Store Reward Programs

• Make sure to sign up for store specific reward points before you go shopping.
• For example, Kohl’s has a rewards program that gives you Kohl’s cash.

Cash Back Programs

• Swagbucks
• Ebates

You can earn money by shopping with Swagbucks. Often there are great sales where you earn 8 or 9 Swagbucks for every dollar spent at a particular store. With a $25 Target card costing 2200 Swagbucks, snagging these are super easy. You can also earn Swagbucks is by letting the Swagbucks TV app run on your phone. Just turn it on in the morning and let it play. It normally shows movie trailers one after another and for every few videos that are “watched,” you earn a few swagbucks. It’s surprising how quickly they add up. Sign up for Swagbucks here, it’s free and super easy.

Ebates often has exclusive sales on their site in addition to the ebates money you earn back from shopping. Just today I had a notification that Kohl’s was offering 20% off your entire order AND you would earn 9% back through ebates. If you time it right, ebates can add up to some real savings. Sign up through my Ebates link (it’s free) and get $10 from Ebates free.

Rebate/Coupon Apps

• Ibotta
• Shopkick

Ibotta has several deals like $5 back on a $50 dollar purchase. These change monthly. I once earn 5 bucks for shopping at Sephora but I’ve seen other offers for Target, Bed, Bath and Beyond, and Best Buy I love this app because I constantly earn money by scanning my receipts from the grocery store. You can get payouts sent directly to your paypal account or you can get giftcards. That’s super nice for things you were buying anyway. Sign up here for a $10 bonus.

Shopkick offers both rebates and fun check-in points that you don’t even have to buy a thing in the store to receive. When you are near a store with “kicks” the Shopkick app will ding. You just walk into the store and the app will automatically give you “kicks” just for entering the store. At some stores you can earn extra kicks for scanning specific items. One time it had me scan a Hershey’s bar in Walgreens and I earned something like 50 kicks for the process. Some days Shopkick will offer as much as 200 points for doing this.

So are you a person who still goes to the stores on Black Friday or do you do all of your shopping online? Let us know in the comments below.