You’ve made your list and checked it twice. And when you go shopping, you want to get the most for your money and avoid trouble. Here are tips for finding the best deals and avoiding a holiday debt hangover.

Listen to audio highlights of the story below:

Most Sale Prices Aren’t Special Prices

“Don’t use a ‘sale’ as an excuse to buy something,” said Jamie Lettis, an associate editor at Checkbook. “Do your homework to see if that ‘sale price’ is legit.”

Checkbook regularly tracks sales and consistently finds that many advertised discounts were not discounts at all. For our most recent report, our undercover shoppers tracked prices at 24 major retailers for 33 weeks and found that 21 of those stores advertised discounts more than half the time; at eight of the 24 retailers, most of the items we tracked were on sale every week or nearly every week we checked.

In other words, at many retailers the “regular price” or “list” price they display is seldom, if ever, what customers pay. It’s just a now-too-common marketing trick online and brick-and-mortar retailers use to create the perception of having low prices without having to actually offer them.

Fake sales can also nudge you to spend more. “If stores can make you feel like you’re saving a bundle, that encourages you to spend even more,” said Kevin Brasler, Checkbook’s executive editor.

Shop Around for the Best Deal

When Lettis goes shopping, she uses her phone to check pricing available elsewhere. For example, if she’s in Target and spots a coffee maker at what seems a great price, she’ll check Costco, Walmart, Amazon, and possibly do a general Google search. She also visits the store’s website to see if there’s a better price for the same item online.

“I’m doing research on the fly,” Lettis said. “That helps me make sure that the price that I’m excited about really is the best price I can get.”

If Lettis finds a better price online or from another retailer, Lettis will go to customer service and ask for a price match.

Earlier this year, Checkbook checked for price-matching and price-adjustment offers with about 100 major retailers and found that most offer consumer-friendly policies.

If the price goes down shortly after you make the purchase, especially for a big-ticket item, contact the store and ask for a price adjustment. Many retailers will do that as a courtesy.

“I bought a bed from Pottery Barn not long ago, and I checked that price for about six weeks just to make sure that it didn’t go on some kind of a sale, because that’s found money in many cases,” Lettis told me. “Usually, you don’t even have to go back, you can just call the store or chat with customer service, and they’ll do the adjustment.”

While she’s comparing prices, Lettis also checks for promo codes and visits her favorite cashback portals, such as Rakuten and RetailMeNot, to see if she can get a better price and/or money back on that transaction if she buys online.

“It’s the final number that counts,” Lettis said. “Maybe it’s the same price online, but that retailer is offering 10 percent cash back through Rakuten that day, and I can get $20 back. That’s worth it to me. I’ll wait a couple days for that item to arrive at my doorstep.”

Click below to listen to our Consumerpedia podcast episode.

Beware Black Friday Baloney

Retailers continue to promote splashy “Black Friday” deals, but their strategy has shifted—they no longer focus on the day after Thanksgiving.

Edgar Dworsky, founder and publisher of ConsumerWorld.org, has been following Black Friday sales for decades, and in recent years has dubbed November “Black Friday Month.”

“Stores know that the term Black Friday really is an attention grabber, and consumers have learned that it’s a great day to buy,” Dworsky told Checkbook. “I think you’re going to see a different Black Friday sale every week in November.”

With the sales starting before Thanksgiving, how do shoppers know that the prices won’t get better as we get closer to the real Black Friday?

“That’s a problem,” Dworsky admits. “You really need to use some online tools that let you see the price histories for certain products.”

One site Dworsky uses to do this is camelcamelcamel, which tracks prices offered over time by Amazon. This lets you determine genuine bargain prices and helps you ignore “super sale” marketing hype.

You can also compare current prices offered by major retailers by using comparison sites such as PayPal’s Honey, Bizrate, PriceGrabber, and Shopzilla.

For people who like to get up in the middle of the night on Black Friday to scour the stores for those door-buster deals—you might want to sleep in, like Dworsky now does, and shop online.

“I can’t tell you how often I used to get up at four in the morning to get in line at Kohl’s and commiserate with all the folks there, and then race into the store and then do the same thing at Staples, Dworsky said. “But a couple of years ago, I discovered that I could go online to Staples.com, get the same offer at 7 a.m., and not have to wait in line.”

’Tis the Season for Credit Card Debt

Americans plan to spend more on holiday shopping this year than last, and most (74 percent) will use credit cards for those purchases, according to a recent holiday spending report by NerdWallet. The personal finance site polled more than 1,700 adults in September.

Credit cards are one of the most expensive ways to borrow money. On average, credit card companies are now charging 23.4 percent interest, according to the Federal Reserve.

“Not only are consumers at risk of getting into credit card debt, but that debt can stick around long after the decorations come down,” said Sara Rathner, NerdWallet’s credit cards expert. More than one-quarter (28 percent) of consumers who used credit cards to buy presents for family and friends last year have not paid off those purchases, according to the NerdWallet survey.

Store Credit Cards Charge Highest Interest Rates

Lending Tree recently reviewed 106 store cards and found 75 percent had a possible APR of 30 percent or higher. The average APR was 30.78 percent, the highest rate in the seven years the site has been tracking this. A few retailers recently hiked their interest rates to nearly 36 percent, according to Bankrate.com.

Major retailers want you to use their credit cards, and they offer special signup bonuses if you apply while shopping in their stores or online. The typical offer is an instant discount of 15 to 20 percent on your purchase, which can be a significant savings.

Many store cards also come with perks, such as early access to sales, special promotions, and bonus rewards points.

If you don’t pay off the bill each month, “with an average APR of nearly 31 percent, any discounts or rewards you earn with a store credit card will be quickly outweighed by any interest you accrue,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at Lending Tree. “Don’t let yourself be pressured by the person behind the counter to make a quick, uninformed decision about getting that card. It’s all part of the game. Don’t play along.”

If you plan to go shopping at a specific store and think you might want to get their credit card, find out about the terms and conditions before you head to the store. Or decline the offer, go back home and read up on it. You can apply online or the next time you’re at the store.

Many store cards come with “special financing” offers that offer no interest for a specific period (i.e., six, 12, or 24 months). However, many of these deals come with strings attached, Schulz cautions.

“If you don’t pay off your purchase in full during the introductory period, you’ll get hit with a bill for all the interest that would’ve accrued since the purchase date. That’s big, especially with a big purchase, and it can be an unpleasant surprise,” Schulz told Checkbook.

Think Ahead About Returns

Most major retailers provide more lenient policies for holiday returns, and Dworsky expects that to continue this year. But to combat return fraud, some stores may be a bit more critical about taking back stuff. Remember, it generally is legal for stores to refuse to make refunds or exchanges if the signs say, “All Sales Final.”

The smart move is to provide a gift receipt, which tells the recipient where the item was purchased, and probably eliminate hassles if they need to return it. Without a receipt, the store may only give them the lowest price the item sold for in the last 90 or 180 days.

Don’t Overdo It

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of shopping. Having a list, with dollar amounts next to each person, can keep you focused and within your budget.

“If you’re satisfying an immediate need and only focused on what you’re buying in the moment, it may seem like those credit card payments are manageable—but that can add up,” said Bruce McClary, senior vice president for communications at the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. “The more you do that, the less affordable the debt becomes, and you could find yourself falling behind. You’re paying extra interest as you carry the balance month-to-month, and that can have some devastating consequences.”

If your budget is already stretched to the max, McClary suggests thinking about “meaningful things that you can do that don’t necessarily mean spending a lot of money at the store.” What you do for someone or make for them, can mean more than “some item you buy at a big box store,” he said.

Still dealing with credit card debt from last year? Your first priority should be to pay that off as quickly as possible before you pile on more. A zero-percent interest credit card (if you qualify for one) might be the way to go. You can stop the interest clock for up to 21 months while you pay off the balance.

Need some help? Talk to a non-profit credit counselor who can show you the way forward. Visit the NFCC website, or call 800-388-2227. The first session is typically free.

More from Checkbook:

• Checkbook’s Top Shopping Tips
• Sale Prices Are Rarely Real Deals
• 30 Tricks Sellers Use to Manipulate You
• Cashback Shopping Portals
• Credit Cards: How to Choose the Best One
• Buy Now, Pay Later Often a Debt Trap
• Consumerpedia podcast, episode 73: Holiday Shopping Tips 2024
• Consumerpedia podcast, episode 58: Misleading Marketing Gets You to Buy Now and Pay More