3 Things I'm Hoping to Buy on Amazon Prime Day

How does your purchase list compare?

As someone who's usually pretty disciplined about saving money and not going overboard on shopping, I don't tend to get too excited about big events like Amazon Prime Day. But I do acknowledge that sometimes, there can be great deals to be had.

In 2020, I actually spent $1,000 on Prime Day purchases, which I didn't regret because I'd saved up in advance to cover them, and also, because those purchases were pre-planned and within my household budget. This year, I intend to take the same approach to Prime Day, which is slated to happen sometime in July. Here are some of the items I'm hoping to purchase.

1. A discounted e-reader for my son

My son is a voracious reader, but sometimes, I run out of time to take him back and forth to the library to restock his book collection. He does have a tablet he can download library books onto. But that tablet is large and clunky, and it's not so easy to lug around town.

Sometimes, though, my son has to be a good sport and come along to activities his sisters are participating in. And so I'd love to get him a small e-reader that's easily portable.

To be clear, though, I'm only going to purchase him an e-reader if Amazon has a good deal on one, since it's not a necessity and he has another device he can use to access electronic books. And I don't want an e-reader with fancy features, so if there's no basic one on sale, I'll pass.

2. Low-cost pet toys

My 70-pound lab mix loves toys -- and also has a tendency to destroy them in a matter of minutes. As such, I can't justify ever paying full price for a pet toy that's supposed to withstand abuse from a large dog only to see it inevitably fall short.

In fact, the only time I really buy my dog toys are when they go on sale. It just doesn't make sense to pay full price for something that won't last -- especially when I consider the various essential pet expenses I have to cover, from food to vet care to insurance.

3. Holiday gifts

Last year, supply chain issues made holiday shopping more stressful than it needed to be. This year, I'm hoping to get a nice jump start on my holiday shopping by snagging discounted gifts during Prime Day.

To be clear, I won't be making all of my purchases in July -- partly because I've only recently started saving up for the holidays, and I don't want to spend more money than I've socked away. But if I see kids' toys heavily discounted, I intend to scoop some up, stash them in my basement, and hope they're not discovered before the holidays begin.

What's on your Prime Day list?

Prime Day might offer a wide range of deals this year, so it's a good idea to compile a list of purchases you want to make ahead of time -- and stick to it. In fact, in the coming days, you may want to take a look at your savings account and see what you can afford to spend on Prime Day so you don't go over budget -- because while it's nice to snag discounts, you also don't want to drive yourself into debt.