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Priorities For Holiday Shopping: Safety And Budgets

Don't let the holiday cheer turn into misery. Experts say people should follow some safety tips to make sure their information stays secure. 
With Rocky Mountain states, including Utah, leading in job growth this year, economic forecasters expect strong holiday spending. Many purchases will take place online, and Michael Murdoch, a communications specialist with Wauna Federal Credit Union, says people should be careful. 

He advises people to use secure websites that begin with HTTPS and refrain from buying gifts while connected to public Wi-Fi. Most importantly, Murdoch says weak passwords are one of the easiest ways for fraudsters to get hold of personal information.

"One thing that everybody can do is to use complicated passwords," he states. "We can't stress that enough - to change them and use complicated ones. So, at least eight characters, including numbers, special characters and, of course, upper and lower cases."

In stores, Murdoch encourages people to shield their PIN numbers when entering them. He says people also should monitor their accounts online. Credit unions such as Murdoch's and most other financial institutions offer phone apps for tracking accounts.

Murdoch says people also should track how much they're spending this season. Making a list and keeping a budget can help.

"It's always a good idea to set yourself a budget because - I'm definitely guilty of this - before you know it, you've overspent or perhaps you purchase something that you didn't quite plan to purchase for," he states.

Murdoch says people should keep to their budgets through the holidays, including the day after Christmas, which is a big shopping day. He adds that websites such as Pricewatch.com or Google shopping are good places to compare prices online and find the best deals.