By Lauren Schwahn, NerdWallet

Amazon’s well-known Prime Day sale is back this summer, running July 8-11. As I look back on my previous years covering and shopping the deals, I’ve noticed a pattern:

There’s a lot of hype leading up to the sale, but I’m left feeling a bit dissatisfied when it’s over.

The problem isn’t always the deals themselves, but how I shop. I’ve let temptation and the fear of missing out get the better of me. And I know I’m not the only one.

So, I asked a couple of my fellow personal finance writers to join me in sharing our biggest Prime Day blunders.

What is your biggest Prime Day regret?

Cordless LED table lamp

Amanda Barroso: “It was cute for about an hour, then it lost its charge. The lamp was not on my list, but I had seen a lot of people in my social media feeds linking to similar products. I wish I returned it but I waited too late and missed the return window. So, now it’s sitting in a donate pile waiting to go to my local thrift store.”

Unplanned items

Lauren Schwahn: “Last year, I had my eye on a Yoto Mini audio player for my son’s upcoming birthday. I snagged a starter pack bundle for $63.99 (a $16 discount) on Prime Day. But I got caught up in browsing other deals. I added on $8 hair clips and a $17 pajama set that I didn’t really need. Spending an extra $25 wasn’t the worst-case scenario, but I could have put that money to better use elsewhere — especially considering one of the clips broke in my thick hair after maybe three uses.”

An expensive soundbar

Tommy Tindall: “It wasn’t on Prime Day in July, but I spent over $700 on a Sonos soundbar during Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days in October last year. I was in the market for some kind of TV speaker, but it’s not like me to spend that much. Amazon dangled a bunch of deals in front of me, I got caught up in the hype of the sale and told myself it was OK to spend hundreds on a random day in October.”

What did you learn?

It’s important to prepare for returns.

Amanda Barroso: “Just because influencers make something look useful or cute on social media doesn’t mean it’s true or worth your money. I’m still willing to try some things, but I’m always checking to make sure an item is sold and shipped by Amazon to make for easy returns. And I’m keeping the packaging for items like this for a couple of weeks just to be sure.”

Sticking to a list is best.

Lauren Schwahn: “A discount alone isn’t a good enough reason to buy something. If an item isn’t on my list, it probably doesn’t belong in my cart. And if I’ve never heard of the brand before, it’s probably best to avoid it. I’ve had my fair share of quality issues with impulse buys. This year, I’m going to focus on items that I truly need and ignore the recommended deals that Amazon throws my way.”

It’s easy to let excitement cloud your judgment.

Tommy Tindall: “I’m just as impressionable and influenced by hype as everyone else. I hated myself for spending that much on one item, and had that thing back in the box not even an hour after I had opened it and set it up. I sent the soundbar back promptly, and decided not to let a made-up sale holiday incite unnecessary overspending again.”

How to avoid regrettable choices this Prime Day

Buyer’s remorse happens to the best of us. But with a little preparation, you might be spared this year. Here’s what you can learn from our past missteps:

Don’t shop just because there’s a sale. It’s hard not to get sucked into Prime Day and competing sales. But there’s no shame in sitting them out if you don’t need anything right now.
Make a list. If you are going to check out the sales, come prepared. Plan out what to buy ahead of time, and consider saving the items you want in your shopping cart. This can reduce the temptation to browse on sale day.
Set a budget for impulse buys. If you don’t want to give up browsing the deals entirely, set a spending limit just for spontaneous purchases. Pick an amount you’d be comfortable parting with if you’re unable to make a return.
Read product pages carefully. Check out item descriptions, specs and reviews to better set expectations. Look for shipping and return policy details, too. Stick to reputable brands, when possible, and vet third party sellers carefully.

Lauren Schwahn writes for NerdWallet. Email: lschwahn@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @lauren_schwahn.

The article Finance Writers Share Regrets From Prime Days Past originally appeared on NerdWallet.

By STEVE KARNOWSKI

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman, who was shot nine times by a gunman posing as a police officer who authorities say went on to kill another lawmaker, is out of the hospital and is now recovering in a transitional care unit, his family said.

“John has been moved to a rehab facility, but still has a long road to recovery ahead,” the family said in a statement Monday night.

The family released a photo showing a smiling Hoffman giving a thumbs-up while standing with a suitcase on rollers, ready to leave the hospital.

Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were awakened around 2 a.m. on June 14 by a man pounding on the door of their home in the Minneapolis suburb of Champlin, who said he was a police officer. According to an FBI agent’s affidavit, security video showed the suspect, Vance Boelter, at the door wearing a black tactical vest and holding a flashlight. He was wearing a flesh-colored mask that covered his entire head.

Yvette Hoffman told investigators they opened the door, and when they spotted the mask, they realized that the man was not a police officer. He then said something like “this is a robbery.” The senator then lunged at the gunman and was shot nine times. Yvette Hoffman was hit eight times before she could shut the door. Their adult daughter, Hope, was there but was not injured and called 911.

Boelter is accused of going to the homes of two other lawmakers in a vehicle altered to resemble a squad car, without making contact with them, before going to the home of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in nearby Brooklyn Park. He allegedly killed both of them and wounded their dog so seriously that he had to be euthanized.

The chief federal prosecutor for Minnesota has called the lawmaker’s killing an assassination.

Yvette Hoffman was released from the hospital a few days after the attacks. Former President Joe Biden visited the senator in the hospital when he was in town for the Hortmans’ funeral.

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Boelter, who remains jailed without bail, is charged in federal and state court with murder and attempted murder. At a hearing Thursday, Boelter said he was “looking forward to the facts about the 14th coming out.”

Prosecutors have declined to speculate on a motive. Friends have described him as an evangelical Christian with politically conservative views.

It will be up to Attorney General Pam Bondi to decide whether to seek the federal death penalty. Minnesota abolished its state death penalty in 1911.

A woman who died after she was shot in a vehicle traveling on a Minneapolis interstate was officially identified Tuesday as a 24-year-old from St. Paul.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said Anassia Wiseman died at the hospital of a gunshot wound to her head on June 25. She and another woman in the vehicle were shot on westbound Interstate 394 near Penn Avenue.

The two women got themselves to the hospital after shots were fired into their vehicle. Police were notified about 10:40 p.m. on June 22. The other woman in the vehicle had a non-life threatening injury, police said.

“Two families have had their lives forever changed by gun violence,” said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara in a statement. “One of those families had hope that their loved one would recover and experienced further tragedy when that hope was lost. Our investigators will not let her family lose the hope that whoever is responsible will be brought to justice.”

No one had been arrested as of Tuesday morning, and police said their investigation is ongoing. Police ask anyone with information to contact them at policetips@minneapolismn.gov or 612-673-5845, or anonymously to CrimeStoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

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By JULIA FRANKEL

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s defense minister has outlined plans to pack hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into a closed zone of the Gaza Strip along the border with Egypt, according to local media reports.

It appears to be the latest version of plans by the Israeli government to maintain lasting control over the territory and relocate much of its population of some 2 million. Critics say that would amount to forcible displacement in violation of international law because Israel’s offensive and blockade have made Gaza largely uninhabitable.

Israeli officials say the aim is to separate the civilian population from Hamas, which still controls parts of Gaza and holds dozens of hostages abducted in the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war 21 months ago. Palestinians would then be given the option of emigrating, they say. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he is narrowing in on a ceasefire and hopes to eventually end the war, has also voiced support for the mass transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza.

A ‘humanitarian city’ atop the ruins of Rafah

Defense Minister Israel Katz outlined the latest plans in a closed briefing with Israeli military reporters on Monday. His office did not respond to a request for comment on their reports, which appeared in several Israeli media outlets.

Katz reportedly said he had ordered Israel’s military to draw up plans to build what he called a “humanitarian city” in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, which has been heavily damaged in the war and is now largely uninhabited.

Katz reportedly said that Palestinians would not be able to leave once they enter the zone.

The military would initially move 600,000 Palestinians from an existing so-called humanitarian zone along the coast, with the aim of eventually transferring the whole population to Rafah. Katz said Israel was searching for an unspecified international body to deliver aid as Israeli troops secured the perimeter.

He said the military could start building the ‘city’ during a 60-day ceasefire that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are discussing in Washington this week.

Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. Palestinians view Gaza as an integral part of their national homeland and oppose any plans to uproot them.

Rights groups see preparations for mass expulsion

Both Trump and Netanyahu have said Gaza’s population should be relocated to other countries through what they refer to as voluntary emigration. During their meeting on Monday at the White House, Netanyahu said Palestinians should have a “free choice” on whether to stay or leave.

Palestinians fear that even if they leave temporarily to escape the war, Israel will never allow them to return — a possible repeat of the mass exodus that occurred before and during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.

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Katz expressed hope that the “emigration plan” would happen and said Netanyahu was already leading efforts to find countries willing to take in Palestinians, according to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.

Rights groups fear that concentrating the population along the border with Egypt would create catastrophic conditions that leave Palestinians no choice but to leave.

“Forcing people into what amounts to a large concentration camp echoes dark chapters of history,” said Tania Hary, executive director of Gisha, an Israeli group advocating Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement.

“Israel’s leadership hasn’t been shy about the goal to expel Palestinians from Gaza and maintain permanent control over wide swaths of the territory,” she said.

An Israeli-backed aid system is already in place

Israel and the United States have already rolled out an aid distribution program in Rafah that has been marred by violence and controversy.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed or wounded while trying to reach sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a contractor supported by Israel and the U.S., according to local hospitals.

Palestinian witnesses and health officials say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire toward crowds of people heading to the sites. The military says it has fired warning shots at people who approached its forces in what it describes as a suspicious manner.

GHF denies there has been any violence in or around the sites themselves, which are in Israeli military zones off limits to independent media. Two U.S. contractors told The Associated Press that their colleagues used live ammunition and stun grenades as crowds scrambled for food, allegations denied by the foundation. GHF has also denied involvement in any population transfer plans.

But in a press conference in May, Netanyahu appeared to link the two initiatives, saying Israel would implement the new aid program and then create a “sterile zone” in southern Gaza, free of Hamas, where the Palestinian population would be relocated.

Netanyahu has said Israel will maintain lasting control over Gaza and has ruled out any role for the internationally-recognized Palestinian Authority, led by political rivals of Hamas.