Getting what you want feels good. Really good. That’s what we love so much about the holidays. Stretching your dollars so you can give others what they want is even better, especially when it comes to the kids. They’ve been good all year, and with a little preparation, you won’t miss getting their favorite toys for less money.

Taking advantage of Cyber Monday, which promises to be the second-biggest shopping day this year, means acting fast.

You need to get your computer running at its peak and brush up on your search skills so you can find the best quality and pricing fast. That way a, “Hurry, only one left!” call won’t dupe you into paying more than you should. Here’s how to prep your computer and your deal hunting skills for Cyber Monday:

Get Ready

These tips are simple tweaks that anyone can do to make sure their computer is running super fast on Cyber Monday. First, check out faster Internet browsers, like Opera or Google Chrome. If you do not switch browsers, you’ll need to take a minute to clean out any old files that are bogging down your speed. Go into your browser’s options and clear the cache, cookies and browsing history. Also, set up bookmarks for the retailers you plan to shop.

Get Set

Prepare your personal mailing and payment information in advance, so you can just copy and paste from a document to the Web form. If you expect to participate in an upcoming Cyber Monday deal, make sure you are registered and signed up ahead of time.

If you can enter your payment method in advance and have it saved securely at the retailer, you’ll have that much less wasted time digging out your PerkStreet card. Another option is to be sure the information is in the auto-fill application within your browser.

Also, make sure you have read those upcoming promotions and coupons correctly. Nothing feels worse than thinking you are getting something free, only to find you have to pay double for something else first.

Shop!

I’ve got three favorites when it comes to saving money with online shopping, and they’re generally a three-punch knockout, no matter what I’m trying to get. First, I swing by Savings.com to see what coupon codes are available. If you’d like a walk through on how I research major purchases, check out my post on Savings.com about shopping for a laptop.

Once I spot some potential good deals, I make a note of the products I might buy. Then I run over to Amazon.com to check out what’s available for deals there. The home page has links to the outlet, deals of the day and other good places to look. I might take down a few more notes from my browsing there.

Then it’s time to check on the quality and pricing of the items on my list. I search for the specific items I might buy and then filter them by choosing a category (Amazon search results are only sortable after picking a category).

Next, I use Amazon’s sorting tools lined up on the left of the page. I prefer to click on four stars and above. I then choose the drop down menu on the right to sort by lowest price first. This gives me a quick snapshot of the highest quality products and best prices. Nine times out of ten, Amazon is where I end up buying, but I just can’t let that one good deal go, so I add a few things to my cart (I can dump them later) and run off to Google Shopping.

Those who have been surfing the Web since the early days might remember Google Shopping by the name Froogle. Click on the advanced button near the search box to bring up search options. I like to present a big list of 100 items and then sort by lowest to highest price. I can then back out keywords that seem to be bringing bad matches by changing my advanced search terms to return searches without those words.

My favorite thing about the Google Shopping search is the great retailers you turn up. I have found retailers that sell at Amazon that I never noticed while on that site. I also get a chance to reaffirm any preliminary purchase decisions I have made. At this point, I know where the best deal is and I’m ready to tackle those specials. This search process takes about fifteen minutes. Cyber Monday will be here before you know it, so get some practice in now!

Pay Attention to the Details

Even when you have narrowed down your purchase decision to get the best deal, free shipping, and a 25% off coupon, you’ll feel really good when you use your PerkStreet card to get cash back on top of those incredible savings.

This is easy, because PerkStreet does cash back on pretty much every online purchase you make. Remember: If you don’t give your PIN number when you shop with a PerkStreet card, you’re earning cash back.

To keep those good feelings going, don’t forget to make sure your offers went through by sending yourself an email with the confirmation number. Also, be careful you pay attention to what shipping method you use. If free options are available, make sure you use them. Some retailers default to the paid option even when you qualify for free shipping.

By following these tips, you’ll be a super shopper on Cyber Monday. Best of all, you won’t have exhausted yourself fighting the stampedes at the mall!

Jessica Bosari is the Site Manager and Editor for Billeater, a blog with Money-saving tips to lower your bills. When she’s not gathering money-saving tips, Jessica is feeding her geeky side with sci-fi movies, tech gadgets, useful apps and productivity tricks, just to keep things interesting.

What are your best tips for shopping on Cyber Monday? What deals are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments section below.