3 things I always buy on Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday often feels like a lighter version of Black Friday. But even with many deals being sold out by today, I still purposely wait until today for select deals.

Why? Because for software and services, it can stretch how long I can make use of the deal. Prices drop for Black Friday, and then the deals extend into Cyber Monday. If you wait, you don’t lose out. There’s no product to run out of.

Each year (including this one), you’ll find me scooping up these discounts.

Late November is the best time to subscribe to a streaming service. Case in point: Hulu. As in previous years, the service has slashed the price of its entry plan. The 2024 promotion is just $1 per month for 12 months, or $3 per month for a Hulu & Disney+ bundle. And if that’s not enough TV, you can also stack a $1-per-month Starz add-on once you’ve signed up.

Other streaming service deals right now:

Other more niche streaming sites (e.g., Britbox or Dropout.tv) often offer discounts through Cyber Monday, too. It’s worth checking out.

Heavily discounted software

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Subscriptions dominate our lives—so many things require a recurring cost. For the ones you can’t avoid, this time of year is a great time to reduce the pain.

For example, you can get 12 months of Adobe Creative Cloud for 50 percent off, which will save you hundreds of dollars. Normally a subscription is $60/month (or $720 for a year), but if you sign up during Black Friday, it’s $30/month (or $360).

You can find deals on just about all services, not just image editors. Think password managers, antivirus subscriptions, VPNs, cloud storage, online backup, web hosting, and even email. I save money on these boring but necessary parts of digital life so I can spend the savings on more fun things.

A few noteworthy deals:

• Microsoft 365 Family: $68 for 15 months of access. Also includes a bonus year of NordVPN’s service. Normally $99 for just one year of Microsoft 365 Family alone (Microsoft Office apps + 1TB cloud storage per family member, plus other features).
• Norton 365 Deluxe: $30 for first year, normally goes for $50. Our favorite antivirus software suite.
• Kindle Unlimited: $1 for 3 months, normally goes for $12/month.

Affordable cell phone plans

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You can keep your cell phone bills cheap by opting for prepaid services, like Mint Mobile, Red Pocket, Tracfone, Cricket, Google Fi, U.S. Mobile, and other MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators). They lease use of the AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile networks, and in exchange for some light restrictions (like data speed caps), they’re able to offer customers inexpensive plans.

Cyber Monday is a good time to grab top-ups for your plan, or to take advantage of new customer specials. I do this for relatives who don’t want to spend a lot on their cell phone plans. Buying this late in November means they can hold the top-up card or squeeze the last bits out of their plan just a little longer.

You can also score excellent phone deals when porting to another mobile carrier—so if you need a new phone, it’s a good time of year to look into those offers, too.

Sample deals:

• Mint Mobile: $30 for 3 months (20GB data plan). Normally $75.
• Red Pocket: $200 for 12 months (12GB data plan on AT&T network, 8GB on Verizon & T-Mobile networks). Normally $365. Plan sold through Red Pocket’s official eBay storefront.
• Mint Mobile: $480 for Google Pixel 9 + 1 year of unlimited data plan. Normally $800 for phone, $360 for plan. Current Mint Mobile customers can buy the phone for $300.