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Shopping online really is cheaper, especially if you place any value on your time. I have been burned shopping online though, and really wished I'd spent the extra money in a traditional bricks and mortar establishment. This article will tell you what to buy online to save money, and when you should be happy to spend a bit more to make your purchases in person.

First, shopping online makes it easy to find the best price for just about anything you want to buy. Even better, you can make your purchase with a click or two of a mouse; you don't have to get in your car, travel to the mall, park, walk to the store and spend time shopping. You also save on gas, or bus fare. And if you figure out what your time is worth, you'll likely agree that online shopping can save you a bundle even if the price difference isn't that great. Not only that, but staying out of stores also prevents you from making impulse purchases, which can be a considerable saving in itself.

I buy almost all my books online. I have accounts with Amazon, and Chapters, and when I buy a book they have my credit card and shipping info. A few clicks of the mouse and before I know it there's a package in my front porch. The whole shopping experience may have taken only a few seconds.

And I do all my Xmas shopping online. I have nephews and nieces that live on the other side of the country from me. Rather than go to the store, pick out their gifts, wrap them, box them up, and take them to the post office, I simply go to the online store that has the toys they like - Lego for example - and a couple of clicks later their gifts are selected and ready to be shipped, gift-wrapped, in time for Xmas. Instead of spending hours Xmas shopping I spend a couple of minutes.

But I have had regrets attempting to save money and time buying online. One thing you want to be very careful about purchasing is airline tickets. Sure, you can get great prices, and it's fast and easy, but what you don't know about your ticket can really hurt you if your flight is oversold. I was once bumped from a cross-country flight because the ticket I bought through an online travel agent turned out to be the lowest priced for a reason: it didn't guarantee me a seat if the flight was oversold. If I'd paid a few dollars more at a real travel agents, I learned later, I would've been fine. Instead, I saved a few dollars, and wound up waiting for hours for another flight.

So when it comes to air travel, I'd advise caution. But for just about everything else, online shopping really is cheaper, and can save you a lot of time and money.

Learn more about this author, David Riel.
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