Day One: 12 Ways of Getting Through the Holidays Without Going Bankrupt

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This is Part 1 of Our 12 Days Of Debt Series

Congratulations!

You survived Black Friday without filing for bankruptcy.

But now, it’s the Monday after Thanksgiving, so what do you do with all that money you saved last week?

Don’t worry.

With the advent of online shopping, retailers have a new weapon to pluck those last remaining dollars from your wallet: Cyber Monday.

Created by the online retailer network Shop.org, Cyber Monday is another attempt by retailers to make the most of your holidays.

According to a survey conducted by BIGresearch for Shop.org, 72 million consumers plan to shop online from home or at work, up from 60.7 million in 2006 and 59 million in 2005. The survey found that 31.9 percent of adults will shop on Cyber Monday, up 17.3 percent over 2006.

On Cyber Monday, more than 400 retailers feature special promotions to encourage shoppers to point and click their way through the holiday shopping season.

One of the biggest sites these shoppers will visit is CyberMonday.com, a website launched by Shop.org. CyberMonday.com was created as a one-stop cyber mall for the best online holiday promotions.

To help you get the most bang for your click, here are the 12 Tips of Christmas Shopping Online, compiled with help from DealofDay.com.

1. Tap into the collective wisdom of seasoned bargain shoppers through online forums. Sites such as DealofDay.com feature interactive member forums discussing topics such as Internet deals, how to find free stuff and coupon clipping.
2. Look for online merchant coupons to get special discounts and offers. These discounts are not secret, but the key is knowing where to find the coupon codes. Bargain-hunting sites frequently maintain a database of hundreds of coupons, usually searchable by topic and/or category.
3. Check for special rebate offers, often buried within a merchant's site. Sometimes these will be associated with products, such as at Amazon.com. Other merchants provide a rebate page that provides a complete list of all rebates available. Do a search for rebates, or go to the site map to find rebate pages.
4. If you absolutely, positively have to have the merchandise at your door by Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa or whatever day you celebrate, check the merchant's delivery schedule and shipping guarantee. Late deliveries are a sure way to guarantee rocks in your holiday stocking.
5. You may be able to use coupons from the "real world" in your virtual world shopping. Coupon codes in printed mailers and newspapers often can provide savings in the digital realm.
6. Stack offers when possible. You may be able to stack a merchant's "first-time buyer" discount with another coupon. Or get freebies along with a purchase over a certain dollar amount.
7. Use online price comparison shopper tools to determine who has the lowest price. You can also use these tools to see potential tax and shipping costs, so you know the bottom line before you check out.
8. Don’t get ripped off. Check the reputation of the merchant at sites such as Bizrate.com, which provide ratings from consumers.
9. Paying with a credit card online is safer than its real-world counterpart. If a merchant’s checkout is secure, it will provide that information. To be sure, check your web browser for the "lock" icon, or look for "https" in the url of the checkout site.
10. Check auction sites such as eBay for deals. Be sure to check the seller's ratings by clicking the number in parentheses after their user name for feedback from others on the site. Don't get fooled by people who will take your money without shipping you the goods.
11. Avoid impulse clicking. Use shopping online to your advantage and save money. Find exactly what you are looking for at a fair price.
12. Most of all, have fun. Network with other bargain hunters on the web and flex your cyber shopping skills all year.