Today is Cyber Monday, the online equivalent to Black Friday. Check your favorite online retailers for great sales and free shipping!

**Make a shopping list and create a budget.
**Buy the newspaper to scope out the sales.
**Compare prices on dealnews.com or amazon.com.
**Set realistic goals. Some stores may only have one or two items in stock that were advertised.

Read more tips on this online article.

**Save on snacks and drinks by packing your own.
**Find cheap gas at gaspricewatch.com or gasbuddy.com.
**Save gas while driving by using cruise control and making sure your tires are properly inflated.

Get more tips here.

**Find free or low-cost activities like driving through neighborhoods with elaborate Christmas decorations.
**Make your own gifts. Baked goods, crafts, or gift certificates for babysitting or house-sitting are just a few ideas.
**Make a list of who you need to buy for - and a budget - and stick to it!

See more tips here.

**Keep a buffer in your checking account in case you incorrectly calculate your balance.
**Sign up for automatic low balance alerts. Many banks will text or email you if you go below a certain level.
**Opt out. You don’t have to have overdraft protection, but your card will be rejected if you try to spend more than you have.
Get more info and tips about this from CNN.

After a few days off from “Sonja on the Money” due to the storm, I’m back with some tips I got from yesterday’s “Parade” magazine.
**Many banks will impose an overdraft fee every time you exceed your balance. Make sure you have money in the account before you use your debit card.
**Most banks will process your expenses from the day before from biggest to smallest, not in chronological order. So if your largest transaction puts you in overdraft mode, you’ll get hit with a charge for every expense that day.
**Use your credit card, not your debit card, for online shopping. Most banks don’t offer the same liability on your debit card as they for for your credit card.

Many businesses are offering freebies and discounts to both veterans and active duty military personnel. Go to the Daily Press’ web site for the list of discounts.

**Clean out your closets and donate unwanted items to charity. Make sure to save your receipt
**Prepay your January mortgage payment so you get a tax break 2009 rather than pushing it into 2010
**Purchase a new car which will give you a one-time tax break if you buy it between February 17th of this year and December 31st.

See more tips and complete info for the ones I listed by reading the complete article.

**Be flexible. Avoid ideal (but pricey) mid-morning to early afternoon flights.
**Be persistent. Sifting through Orbitz, Expedia, Priceline and airline Web sites could reward you with a surprise budget fare. Try booking flights one leg at a time, or using two one-ways.
**Flying to your destination on the Tuesday instead of Wednesday before Thanksgiving and Christmas could save you a $100 or more.
**Book now. Whatever cheap fares remain are disappearing quickly. Procrastinators will pay more this year.

See more travel tips here.

This is a fairly new addition to The Fox’s web site. It features local businesses who are offering discounts up to 50% off.. Check it out at here.