145 million people nationwide will take part in early holiday shopping on Black Friday or Cyber Monday this year. Whether your plans include a shopping cart or a computer, BBB reminds you to keep a few things in mind while getting in the holiday spirit…

1) Stick to your budget. With so many sales, discounts and other distractions, it can be easy to overspend. Have a list of the people you plan to buy gifts for and how much you are willing to spend on each person before you start shopping. As you pick out an item, write it next to the person’s name you are buying for and how much it costs. Once you have met your spending limit, cross their name off your list.

2) Beware of tricky advertisements. Offers on websites for extremely low prices on hard-to-get items should be researched thoroughly to decipher their legitimacy. Make sure you don’t have to go outside the website to make the purchase. For in-store purchases, make sure to read the fine print on all coupons and ads to make sure you are truly receiving the promised discount.

3) Pay with a credit card. This offers you more protection if an item is not shipped or if an additional charge is accidentally added. For online purchases, only give credit card information through secure, encrypted websites marked with “https” in the URL.