The best time to shop for holiday gifts is…whenever you see a bargain. Sorry to be sassy but it’s true! Ok, so how do you find the best holiday shopping bargains?

Don’t forget to enter our 12 Days of Win Giveaways for a chance to WIN your Christmas presents!

1. Use a cash back site for all your online purchases, for heavens sake. My favorite is Ebates. If you join its email list, the site will alert you to their daily DOUBLE cash back offer and weekly cash back deals. You can combine the cash back rebate with any coupons, free shipping offers, or sales the retailer has going on. I’ve earned more than $1,000 through Ebates. It is not a scam, and if you aren’t using it for your online purchases, you are leaving money on the table.

Downside: Ebates pays out every 90 days.

2. Monitor the Black Friday ads. Each week we share the latest

Black Friday ads and sales flyers that have been leaked. So far, there are 32 retailers on the list, including Walmart, Target,  Toys R Us, and Amazon. You’ll get an idea of how big the bargains are and know when to pounce.

Downside: Waking up for a 4 a.m. sale is no fun.

3. Shop smart. And by that I mean have a budget. Write down a number that you can pay in cash or in full on your credit card and stick to it. I offer myself this incentive: if I spend less than by budget I get to spend the leftover money on myself – GUILT FREE!

4. Join email lists. Join five email lists from the list of retailers where you plan to shop this holiday season. Within a few weeks, you’ll get an idea for how often they release coupons. Land’s End, for example, sends out 4-5 emails a week and has some kind of sale or coupon going on at all times. I would never pay full price at Land’s End.

5. Pause. Getting caught up in the holiday spirit of shopping extravagantly is as easy as taking that second slice of pie. Give yourself a 24 hour cooling off period before you make ANY purchase that is not on your original shopping list. Chances are, you’ll completely forget about it.