Black Friday Tips, Tricks and Deals
Make the most out of Black Friday by following these tips and tricks. Plus, links to the Black Friday ads to the most popular stores.
Ah, Black Friday. It's been a tradition in my family for the girls to get together early in the morning, shop until they drop and meet the boys for a late breakfast. I would consider myself a professional shopper and money saver. This year is different, as I will be on my honeymoon on my favorite holiday, Black Friday.
Since I'll be on the beach sipping a margarita, I thought it would be a great time to pass on my knowledge of Black Friday Shopping. Make the most of you trip and make sure you leave with some cash-ola remaining in your wallets.
1. Before the shopping begins, start flipping through your sale flyers and pick out what you want. Is it worth getting up at 2 a.m. after you have stuffed yourself with turkey for the one $5 pajama set? Probably not. Smart shoppers can knock out almost their entire gift list in one trip. It's possible!
2. Once you have a game plan, pick which stores are most important to go to. To make your shopping even easier, grab some friends to tag along. Sometimes it is even a good idea to split up between stores. (Watch out for some offerings that have specific limits.)
3. 'Like' all of the stores on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. Some stores will send out specific discounts for those who check in their stores or give coupons via their Facebook and Twitter accounts.
4. If heading to Target, download the free 'Cartwheel App'. There are plenty of discounts given via the mobile app both on Black Friday and for your everyday shopping. Plus you can stack a manufacturers coupon, Target coupon, cartwheel offer and 5% off from using your Red Card all in one trip. That makes for BIG savings.
5. Now that shopping day is soon to arrive, get a good nights sleep before you go out shopping! All of that turkey will leave you sleepy... so take a nap. It's not a good idea to be crammed in a tiny store with hundreds of other people on three hours of sleep trying to shake off the hangover from the night before. Trust me on this one.
6. Bring snacks. It's not a bad idea to pack a coffee and a granola bar or apple in your car. Remember what I said about taking a nap? Same thing... eat.
7. Bring your own bag. I can't tell you how many times I have gone shopping and all the carts are gone. I've never had a store tell me I couldn't use my own recyclable shopping bag to put my items in and bring them to check out.
8. Bring all of the stores competitors sales flyers as well. Most establishments offer a 'price match guarantee' on their sales flyers. If you see an iPad for $400 at Walmart, but the same in the flyer for $380 at Target, Walmart will drop the price to $380 if you show them the competitors flyer. With the flyer handy, you just saved yourself a trip across town to Target and $20.
9. Be polite. No one wants to be out shopping at 3 a.m. except maybe me. Kindness, patience and a simple please and thank you go a long way. No fighting over Tickle-Me-Elmos, alright?
Good luck out there this year... and have a lot of fun for me too. I promise I'll have a margarita for you!
In case you haven't seen the Black Friday Ads yet, here they are:
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