How to Save on Black Friday Deals with these 13 Black Friday Tips
As the holiday season approaches many anticipate the most promoted shopping day of the year – Black Friday. Long gone are the days where were had the one day to shop and save big on a wide range of items at numerous stores. It started with opening the night before Black Friday and starting deals on Thanksgiving. Now we are seeing deals advertised as Black Friday deals as early as November 1st. I have always said to shop year round for holiday gifts. Not only can you find many deals through out the year, but it helps for you to not spend a ton of money all at once on items. Here is How to Save on Black Friday Deals with these 13 Black Friday Tips.
Make a List
Before you start shopping it’s a good idea to start making a list. Your list should include the names of the people you need to shop for as well as some ideas of items you may want to get for these people. You can use our handy free printable. Print out this Free Black Friday Shopping list so you can be ready!
Create a Budget
This may be hard, but you can do it! Things can start to add up quick, specially if you are buying items online. Creating a budget allows you to work with what you can afford. There is no need to break the bank trying to get gifts for everything this year. See what you can afford and stick to that number. There are many deals out there that should make for a way for this to be possible. I personally will set a budget per person to spend on.
Sign up for Emails
Start right off by signing up for your favorite stores newsletters. Retailers will send you an email when there ads are live and when they are offering any deals or coupons for Black Friday. We are predicting to see a lot of them starting out the beginning of November. So be sure you are signed up for your favorite stores newsletters like Target, Kohl’s or Walmart.
Sign up for Cash Back Programs
If you plan on shopping online it’s a good idea to be using some programs that will earn you cash back on purchases you make. My favorite sites to use would be ebates, mypoints, and now ibotta. Super easy way to earn cash or gift cards to turn around and use as gifts as well! Gotta love it.
Start Shopping Early
Be prepared to start your shopping before Black Friday. We see tons of awesome deals weekly all year long. Often you can find lower than Black Friday prices. It’s just how it is now. So be prepared to jump on items if you see that they are being offered at a low price. This will help it feel as not as big of a blow money wise as well compared to coming off hundreds of dollars all at once for gifts.
Join Event Pages
Join us on Facebook where you can see all the deals posted. I always suggest checking our website first because that’s where the deals go live first. But, I know everyone loves the ease of Facebook. So hop on over and be sure you are in our main deals group too! I hope we can all work together this Holiday Season to help each other SAVE BIG!! Don’t forget to join the Event Page (this years is not live yet) where all the Black Friday Deals go.
Look for this icon above on our main site where you can find all our Black Friday Deals listed. Be sure to check the dates though. Some may be one day deals. Check out any other retailers social media accounts and follow them for possible alerts on offers as well.
Be Prepared
Being prepared is half the battle folks. If you go into the Holiday season not having any idea how much money you can spend, what you can afford, or what gifts you are looking for then you may end up spending not only more money, but more time as well. Start off by making a list of everyone you buy for. Then jot down some ideas you may have for them already. I know sometimes this can be hard. Also make note of how much you can spend that way you are prepared to know exactly what you can afford on each person. Don’t wait till the last minute to shop!
Shop Smart
What is shopping smart? Well shopping smart is knowing the regular prices of items and what they may go on sale for. Now this may be tricky. I’ve been told to check out websites like camel camel camel that will tell you the prices available and at what stores for certain items. This will help you determine if that sale is really a good sale. Truth is not all Black Friday or Holiday sales are amazing. So be smart when you are looking and double check before you purchase. Also be aware of what items you are looking for and what the Black Friday advertised prices are. We already saw Kohl’s deals hotter than Black Friday after stacking coupon codes last week. So keep your eyes peeled!
Know Policies
It’s a good idea to know what the stores you will be shopping at policies are. Know the price-match and return policies. More retailers are likely to be price matching specific online and in-store deals this year. Some stores might suspend their price matching guarantees during the Black Friday deals on certain items. Be sure to read the fine print if this is something you may be doing.
Team Up
If you plan on shopping in stores especially, it’s a good idea to team up with family members or friends. You could divide your lists by category and send each person for those categories for everyone. One person cover kitchen items, another cover the clothing, and another cover the electronics. This will help you save time by focusing on one section of a store instead of all of them. There is a more of a chance of getting hot ticketed items as well if you are teaming up.
Be Fueled Up
Ya know the number one thing I think about when I leave my house is FOOD. If I plan on being out of my home for more then 20 minutes I am packing a bag from home complete with snacks and drinks. Sometimes I even pack a cooler and have my lunch in there. This may be a good idea if you are traveling far from home. This will save you time, money and chaos from having to fight other shoppers out getting food. Make sure you pack enough items to last! If you are shopping from home you can do the same thing and have all your snacks and goodies out and ready to go!
Be Cautious
While I don’t encounter this all too often now as I shop Black Friday from home more times then not…you should be cautious! Sometimes people can get a bit rowdy and crazy on this shopping day. Be sure to be aware of your surroundings. Don’t leave your purse or wallet unattended OR your shopping cart for that matter. This is a good tip in general, but especially on this popular busy day.
Get Your Ads
There are tons of sites that allow you to preview the Black Friday sales ads early like at BFAds.net. Another and most common known way is to check your local newspapers on Thanksgiving Day. They will have TONS of circulars. Even with the ads all being online I also like to have a physical copy on hand so I can be sure I didn’t miss anything. We also will be sharing the ads when we see them go live, and you can view them in our Black Friday Ads page.
You guys don’t miss out on the Black Friday Deals when we share them!! JOIN this Black Friday Event Page so you get notified when a Black Friday Ad is up, and when the deals are live – tons of stores are doing early one day only Black Friday priced deals.