Discounts for this year's Holiday Season

Wow, it's almost November and soon we'll all start (if we haven't already) our big shopping season for the Holidays. In past years, those of us who have not been proactive enough, might have missed out on serious discounts.

I have decided to try to shop a bit smarter this year, and that means take a little time to research and to comparison-shop. Maybe I will not be getting a bunch of big ticket items this year. You might be able to afford them more than I could or you might have already been saving for a couple of those. Whatever your situation, I urge you to do the following:

• Start deciding what your big (and small) purchases will be.
• Use Price Grabber to create a list and set up Price Alerts there. Not only can you compare prices there but you can have the system notify you when a product in your shopping list falls below a price where it would become a more attractive purchase for you.
• Price Grabber may not always give you the lowest price online, some research of your own will be needed.
• Set up an account on Spree.com. The savings do not need to end after you find the lowest price. In fact there's all sorts of agreements between merchants to pass a commission to their advertisers. Spree.com passes a portion of the commission to the buyers themselves!
• When you are ready to make a purchase look at the merchants on Spree.com they have dozens of well known, reputable merchants and if you've made up your mind about buying from one of them AVOID going to the merchant's site directly, instead do so through your account at Spree.com. They will save you (via cashback check after a few weeks) anywhere from 1% to 25% depending on the merchant you chose. The discounts are clearly stated on their site.

I have used Spree.com for over a year. What is in it for me? Well, full disclosure here. Spree.com also offers a referral program of which I am taking advantage. Once you have an account with them, you can also take advantage of their "friend referral" program. Find out more on their site in the "Member Benefits" section by clicking on the "refer your friends" link on the side. Then take a look at the "Cashback guide" it explains how the commision breaks down. To sign up, simply click here.