Imagine walking into a store or browsing online, confident that you’re getting the best deals without spending hours hunting for discounts. 

With the right tools at your fingertips, this can be your reality. We’ve researched and reviewed seven fantastic options that can help you save both time and money during your holiday shopping spree. 

From cash-back apps to discount tools, these strategies will ensure you check off every item on your wish list without breaking the bank. Ready to save some money? Let’s dive in.

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1. Retailer apps and manufacturer sites

Downloading big retailer apps can lead to more savings that cannot be found in stores or online. From Target and Walmart to your local drugstore, many offer secret app-only savings and offers. Retailers are trying to get us to shop more with their own app by combining an app purchase with an in-store pickup that can at times offer additional savings. Look for each app in the official Apple app store and Google Play Store, never from a link or other site.

A woman shopping on her laptop (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

KURT’S BEST HOLIDAY DEAL PICKS

2. Cash-back shopping apps

Rakuten

Cashback shopping apps like Rakuten let you earn cash back when shopping online. According to Rakuten, thousands of retailers participate in the savings.

Image of the Rakuten welcome page (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How it works is simple. Register for free online, then use their app or website while shopping at retailers that offer a commission for sending you to their shopping site.

Rakuten shares a portion of the commission it earns with you. Once you earn enough cash-back savings, you can choose to receive a check, have it paid to your PayPal account or use the American Express rewards program.

Click this link and get a $40 bonus when you spend $40.

Ibotta

I’ve mentioned this app before. Ibotta is an app that you use for couponing and gives you cash back on items you’re already purchasing at your favorite stores, including grocery stores, food delivery, movie and concert tickets, and more.

Image of Ibotta app (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Some of the most popular retailers you can find deals with through Ibotta are CVS, Walgreens, Target, Lowe’s, Petco, Domino’s Pizza, REI and more than 1,500 brands and retailers.

If you scroll to the bottom of the app, you’ll see a section called “Special Deals.” If you scroll, you’ll see a panel called “Free made easy: All free offers all in one place.”

Ibotta special deals section of app (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Click this link and use referral code mpiaurm to earn $5 when you submit your first receipt.

Copy the code to insert into the Referral code box on Ibotta “Create account” page: mpiaurm

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

3. Discount and price comparison apps

Image of Flipp welcome back (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Discount apps like Flipp aggregate sales fliers and store circulars. All you do is put in your zip code and start browsing for savings from thousands of popular retailers. The Watch List lets you track items from your holiday shopping list. Make sure to create a tight shopping list of each item to track in case prices go down before or after your purchase.

KURT’S UNBEATABLE HOLIDAY DEALS

4. Automatic coupon code apps

PayPal Honey

PayPal Honey leads the pack by automatically entering coupon codes into the promo code field when checking out at 5,500+ retail sites.

Image of PayPal Honey welcome back (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How it works: You can use the PayPal Honey app directly, but you are better off using it the way it was designed as a browser extension. Once added to your browser, it tracks where you are shopping and applies the best coupon codes without you needing to do anything. Just watch the total price drop as you are checking out when there is a match to a good discount.

The PayPal Honey browser add-on is available on Safari, Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera and Edge browsers. Again, for security, only download directly through your browser and not from a link or email offer.

PayPal paid $4 billion dollars for the automated coupon code technology browser add-on. That’s when Honey became PayPal Honey you will find here.

While it has come under fire by Amazon for privacy concerns, upon close examination it does not collect anything more than most other shopping technologies and says it does not resell customer shopping data. Maybe Amazon does not like that it works with Amazon, too, which can drive down prices.

5. Shop refurbished and like new

Amazon Warehouse

Amazon Warehouse has millions of open boxes, refurbished, renewed and used goods. Few know that retail giant Amazon has a renewed outlet shopping area that can save you when buying items in good-to-like-new condition.

Make sure you get a very good understanding of an item’s condition before buying. You are protected by Amazon’s policies making it easier to return the rare dud.

Image of Amazon Warehouse page (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

BookFinder.com buys and sells used textbooks. Search with your teacher or professor’s textbook ISBN to make sure you are getting the exact match. Watch that you have thoroughly checked the condition of any used textbook before pulling the trigger at checkout. Avoid textbooks that say there are notations on the various pages, as these may not be the notes that earn you a good grade.

5 SECRETS TO SHOPPING SMARTER ON AMAZON

6. Buy discounted gift cards

You can buy discounted gift cards or sell unwanted gift cards for cash. I also recommend that you check the balance and expiration date of your gift cards before using them and use them as soon as possible to avoid losing them or forgetting about them. Check out the best way to buy gift cards ever by clicking here.

7. Set deal alerts

Set Deal Alerts at Slickdeals.net. This community of millions of fellow shoppers is looking for and sharing the best deals. When the price reaches a desired level, you’ll receive a notification so you don’t miss the deal.

Pro tip: I like to track larger dollar items and then create a calendar entry in my phone reminding me of the last day to reprice a purchase so that I can potentially get money back when the price goes down after the sale.

Make sure it’s a deal by using price tracking sites like Camelcamelcamel.com, which shows the history of sale prices.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

As we gear up for the holiday shopping season, remember that saving money doesn’t have to be a chore. With the right tools and strategies at your disposal, you can enjoy a stress-free shopping experience while keeping your budget intact. Whether you choose cash-back apps, discount tools or retailer-specific offers, there’s something out there for everyone. So, why not dive in and start exploring these options? 

What are some of the absolute best deals you have found using these tools or other methods? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.

Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you’d like us to cover.

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Copyright 2024 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.

Sonos will soon encourage employees on its various product teams who live near its US office locations to come in for at least two days per week, The Verge has learned. That’s a notable break from the company’s history, throughout which Sonos has enthusiastically supported fully remote and hybrid work. Job listings at Sonos routinely state that “it’s about impact, not location.” Glassdoor reviews have long backed this up, with employees reporting no pressure to come into the office.

But that lax stance is set to change slightly as Sonos continues its effort to right the ship following this year’s app mishap and stay on track with upcoming products. It’s adopting a stricter policy that will call for product employees within proximity of Santa Barbara, Boston, Seattle, and San Francisco to regularly be present at those offices. The Santa Barbara location is where Sonos is headquartered. The company also currently operates international offices in Paris and the Netherlands

“Flexibility has been a core tenet of how Sonos has operated since our founding. Flexibility is not going away, but like many companies, we are evaluating the impact that in-person collaboration has on the effectiveness of our teams and our culture,” Sonos said in a statement provided by spokesperson Olivia Singer.

“Sonos product teams rely heavily on collaboration, collective problem-solving, and hands-on testing. These are activities which we believe can be done more effectively in-person. We will be prioritizing office space for our product teams to collaborate in-person 2+ days per week depending on location (proximity to office), role, and current needs. Many Sonos employees and teams, however, will see no change to their current work situation.”

Employees at Sonos tell me that morale remains low internally — it’s been that way since the app controversy spiraled into a crisis — with some fearing another wave of layoffs in the coming weeks after 100 employees were cut back in April.

New job postings from the company have been extremely thin in recent weeks as Sonos tightens its belt amid sluggish demand. During last month’s quarterly earnings call, CEO Patrick Spence and CFO Saori Casey said Sonos will take whatever steps are necessary to keep the balance sheet where it needs to be as the audio company navigates a challenging period for its business. Those measures already include leaning more heavily on AI to field customer support requests.

The new Sonos Arc Ultra has received positive reviews across the board, including from yours truly. But a single product hasn’t gone far in convincing rank-and-file employees (or the company’s most ardent customers) that Sonos is back on the right trajectory for the long haul.

Return-to-office mandates have become common across the tech industry; many large companies require employees to badge in at least three days each week. Amazon made waves earlier this year when it announced a return to the traditional five-day office work week.

Welcome to Fox News’ Artificial Intelligence newsletter with the latest AI technology advancements.

IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:

– Get ready to build your own Lego masterpieces with this new tech

– OpenAI releases text-to-video AI model Sora to certain ChatGPT users

– The AI-powered grandma taking on scammers

BUILD LEGO CREATIONS : This innovative app is here to make custom Lego creation fun and accessible for everyone, whether you’re a seasoned builder or just getting started. By using advanced artificial intelligence and mobile scanning technology, Brick My World opens up a world of creative possibilities.

‘OUR HOLIDAY GIFT’: OpenAI released its text-to-video artificial intelligence model, Sora, this week after the completion of its testing phase.

The OpenAI logo is being displayed on a smartphone with the Sora text-to-video generator visible in the background in this photo illustration, taken in Brussels, Belgium, on February 16, 2024.  (Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

GRANNY FIGHTS BACK: Daisy is an artificial intelligence-powered grandma developed by Virgin Media O2 to interact with scammers. When a scam call comes in, Daisy automatically answers and engages the caller in conversation, wasting their time.

‘I GOTTA FEELING’: [will.i.am doesn’t think true artists should worry about artificial intelligence. The Black Eyed Peas singer does think people not involved in the creative process in the music industry are the ones who should worry about AI taking away their jobs. 

Recording artist will.i.am speaks onstage during Day 2 of the 2024 Invest Fest at Georgia World Congress Center on Aug. 24, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

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