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Deals. Deals. Deals. Every store and website promises to get you the best possible deals during the holiday shopping season.
But buyers beware. Retailers love to use subtle psychological tricks to get you to spend more than you wanted to. Make sure you take care of your Christmas shopping without ending up in debt.
Also, make sure you have the digital tools equipped so you can snag up good, legitimate deals as soon as you see them.
Expect fewer good deals and more scams than you think
According to Time Magazine, we’re in the Golden Age of Scams. Fraudsters have become really good at manipulating us using online tools. Before you start your holiday shopping spree, make sure that you read up on what some of the most common scams look like.
Your debit and credit cards are your keys to successful holiday shopping. Did you know you can keep complete control of them in online + mobile banking? If your card becomes compromised at all, just login and toggle it off. You can set up spending alerts that help you detect fraudulent spending. You can even create travel notices for when you leave town.
To use Card Management, just login to your online + mobile banking account. Go to Tools in the main navigation, then to Card Management.
How much did your item really cost before it went on sale? Some retailers will artificially inflate the original price of the item to create a false sense of savings that gets you to add it to your shopping cart. If you see a huge markdown on a product from a retailer that’s trying to get you to purchase it immediately, just pop it into Google real quick to get some price comparisons.
Keep your Arsenal cards at the top of your digital wallet
Google Pay and Apple Pay are two of the fastest, most convenient ways to make online (and in-person) payments. If you’re shopping online and don’t have your debit card near you, you could miss out on a good deal if you don’t bookmark the page for later. Make sure to add your Arsenal debit and credit cards to the top of your digital wallet for fast, seamless payments anytime, anywhere.
Retailers design their shopping experiences to get you to make quick, impulsive decisions. Take a step back if you’re receiving pressure from a salesperson at a physical store. If you’re using a website that has a countdown timer on it that warns that you only have a limited time to make a purchase, just disregard it. Chances are, if you refresh the page, the timer will reset.
Use comparison shopping sites
It’s important to do your research before making any major purchases. Fortunately, there are hundreds of websites and apps that let you compare prices across the internet to find the best deals. One of the most useful comparison shopping sites is Google Shopping. Just type in what you’re looking for and Google will find prices across multiple online retailers for you.
Maybe wait until after Christmas
Is it worth going into credit card debt just to check off every item on your list? Probably not. If you can’t afford it, you don’t have to justify buying it just because of the holiday.
In fact, if you want to save money on certain items, it could be better to make the purchase after Christmas when demand goes down. Items like fitness equipment, consumer electronics, toys and winter clothing usually see sharp price decreases after the holidays.
