Retailers across the country are already starting to roll out incredible Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. It’s no wonder! Last year, Americans spent an eye-popping $8.9 billion dollars on Black Friday – an average of $430 per person. Shoppers are expected to both spend more this year and look for bigger and better savings too. Here’s the very beginning our of our gift guides and pro-tips to the hottest gadgets at the lowest prices of the year. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 

Smartphones top many of the most-wanted gift lists this year and we like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip4 as a super cool way to stay connected while standing out. It comes in an iconic pocket-size, but still has an incredibly durable design, premium camera capabilities, and immersive entertainment features. You can shoot photos and videos — hands-free— from all angles thanks to the fold. Plus — the Flip4’s advanced camera shoots awesome photos and video day or night with its 65% brighter sensor than their last flip phone. You can also shoot a selfie right from the Cover Screen with Quick Shot — just show a high-five to the screen — sweet trick. Comes in four colors with three different storage options.

PRO TIP: You can get this phone for some $600+ off — depending on trade-in value and if you sign up for Black Friday Reserve on Samsung’s website. Do it now and you’ll get early access to the sales on November 11 — a full week before the sale launches to the general public. (Normally around $1,000 – but look for it just over $300 during the holidays.)

Price: $999.99; or just $309.99 during the Black Friday sale on Samsung.com

 

MOTOROLA Q14 WiFi 6E Mesh System

Mesh WiFi systems — I can’t live without one anymore and likely you can’t either. This Motorola Q14 WiFi 6E Mesh System. Think of your home internet like a city street. Every new device you put it on — laptops, mobile devices, streaming TV, smart speakers, smart thermostats — these are all like cars jamming into two small lanes. Pretty soon they start bumping into each other, causing interference, lag, drop-off and even that dreaded spinning wheel of deal. The Q14 with 6E creates the widest-open super highway of sorts to date — that allows all of your devices smooth sailing all the time. It’s blazing fast and includes access to parental controls and network security tools. Really a must-have for modern families everywhere. 

Availability: Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and MotorolaNetwork.com

Price: $649.99 (3-pack), $429.99 (2-pack)

LeapFrog LF930HD Smart Video Baby Monitor

I have a new baby niece and I got her parents the LeapFrog LF-930-HD smart video baby monitor — that lets them watch over her from anywhere safely and securely — on this 7-inch  high-definition monitor or from the companion app on their smartphone. This features clear color night vision and a slew of smart sensors including motion, sound, temperature and humidity readings — plus an adaptive color night light that adjusts to the room’s brightness and offers 360-degree horizontal pan capability — and you can both hear the baby and talk, coo, sing to them through the speaker as well. As an added bonus — parents can keep track of a little one’s sleep — plus get sleep tips and advice from the WeeSleep experts in the app at no extra cost. (Black Friday promo November 24-28: $160 ($40 off the normal $200 price tag).

Availability: exclusively at Amazon

Price: Black Friday promo November 24-28: $159.99 ($40 off MSRP of $199.99)

SLICKDEALS

There’s so much hype around holiday sales, how do you know you are ACTUALLY getting a great deal? We really like being able to tap into the wisdom of the crowd with Slickdeals.net. This is where you’ll find 12 million fellow shoppers vetting and voting on what’s really a spectacular sale versus a discount dud. It can really pay to start your shopping here, among a community of millions of real people working together to save.  It really is all about shoppers helping shoppers. They work touch on all the top retailers like Amazon and Walmart — so you can find deals on everything from toys to electronics — and know that you’re actually getting the best product at the best price. It’s like having millions of friends to help you share and understand the very best deals at any given time. You can also set a Deal Alert to be notified in your inbox when a deal that matches your criteria gets posted to the site.

McAFEE+ ULTIMATE

This is one of those no-brainers — if you’re gifting any device or just on it’s own — it needs protection from scammers and cyber-crooks! 1 in 5 people lose money to imposter scams, especially during the holidays!  Check out McAfee+ Ultimate as a go-to here. It gives you comprehensive privacy, identity, and security protection — You can create alerts for credit activity across all three major credit bureaus; ​monitor the dark web for breaches involving your personal information; lock or freeze your credit file to prevent someone from opening an account in your name; remove personal information from broker sites that collect and sell it, and a ton more. You’ll need to check mcafee.com for availability in your area.

Price: $199.99/yr (Promotional pricing currently $89.99/1yr) 

Website: McAfee.com

 

****We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. These are the same things we choose for ourselves and recommend to our family and friends. If we recommend that you spend your hard-earned money on something, we take it as seriously as if our own money were on the line. Learn more about the way we work and our rigorous editorial standards here.***