Make sure you don’t miss ANY deals on toys, games, electronics and more! Join Addicted to Saving’s Holiday Deals Facebook group and stay on top of all of the latest deals! And, don’t miss my 2015 Holiday Gift Guide to see all of the gift ideas I am loving this year!
ACK! Black Friday is almost here! Can you believe it? This is the absolute busiest time of year for me from a blogging standpoint. I’m constantly updating my 2015 Holiday Gift Guide, posting regular grocery store and drugstore deals as well as posting as many gift deals as I can find. In the midst of my work schedule, I will take the time to prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Do you go shopping on Black Friday? I know many of you do. Personally, I will not be stepping foot in any stores on Black Friday. Instead, I will be sitting online all day Black Friday and all day Cyber Monday posting deals on Addicted to Saving for all of you. But if you ARE planning on heading out in the chaos known as Black Friday, I have some tips for you to make your day smooth AND frugal.
1) Make a Plan
Don’t go into your Black Friday shopping frenzy without a plan. Most stores will offer their sale ads online days before Thanksgiving, and we will be posting Black Friday ads as soon as they come available here on Addicted to Saving. We also have a Black Friday Category and a Black Friday Page that we will be updating as the ads/deals come available, so bookmark the page in your browser for easy access. Of course, you can grab a newspaper and plan your strategy after your Thanksgiving meal if you prefer. Either way, you need a plan. Saving money doesn’t just magically happen! Decide which bargains you want to go for then make a plan to make it happen. You will need to decide which stores you want to shop at and make a list of the items you want to buy at each store. Decide in which order you will go to which store.
2) Make a List & Stick To It
Don’t rely upon your memory — Black Friday will be stressful, confusing, and very busy. Write down your list of items at each store, or print the deals you really want from the Black Friday Ads in the Black Friday Page. If you veer from your list, you will end up spending more money than planned. And let’s be honest, on Black Friday it’s really easy to just pull our credit card out and buy everything we see because we automatically assume they are good deals. That isn’t always the case. So stick to your list and don’t get distracted by the bright shiny sale signs.
3) Set Your Budget
I can’t tell you how important this is. While I will find you plenty of wonderful Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, you shouldn’t buy something just because it’s a deal! Make a budget for how much you want to spend during your Black Friday excursion and stick to it. Will you be paying cash, writing checks, or using debit and credit cards? Decide ahead of time how much money you want to spend and how you want to spend it. I discourage credit card shopping as much as possible, unless you are in a financial position where you are 100% comfortable that you will pay it off in full the next billing cycle. As you make your shopping list, note how many you need of each item. And keep in mind that some stores may impose limits on their best deals.
4) Bring a Friend
To make your Black Friday shopping a success, you may need to call in the troops. Enlist fellow savers in your shopping spree master-schedule. Will you be taking the whole family? Will you be shopping with friends? Put your heads together as you plan your strategy. If there are five shoppers in your group and five stores that you all want to shop at, make out your lists then split them up. Instead of each of you having your list of items from five different stores, send one person to one store with everyone’s list for that particular store.
5) Use Your Cell Phones
If you are shopping with a group, be sure to make use of your cell phones to communicate while you are shopping. Keep each other posted about your whereabouts and what items you have managed to snag so there are not unnecessary duplicates.
6) Shop Online
Since I’m online all the time anyhow trying to find deals for you all (and myself!), I’m more of an online kind of Black Friday shopper. Join my Holiday Deals group on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and set up your Twitter account to get a text every time I post a deal. Then turn it off once the Holiday Shopping season is over (or keep it on to get year round deals!) 😉 See my post HERE about how to turn on Text Alerts on your twitter account. Both of these ways are excellent ways to stay on top of the latest deals.
7) Find out Return Policies and KEEP your receipts.
8) Realize that Black Friday sales are not always good deals.
There was one year when my husband and I decided to get up early like so many of you do on Black Friday. We left the house around 4:00 a.m. and were in line at Best Buy before the doors opened. When the doors opened, we went crazy piling junk into our cart. Why do I say junk? Because we had NO reason to be buying all of the stuff we bought! We got caught up in the frenzy and found ourselves buying things we didn’t need. This brings me back to my first two tips Make a Plan and then Make a List and Stick to it! 😉
Make sure you join the group Holiday Gift Ideas for Less to insure you don’t miss any deals.
Thanks for coming to Addicted to Saving! Here’s a little bit about me so you can know who’s behind all these posts!
My name is Liza and I began my money-saving journey in the Spring of 2009 as a way to stretch a limited household income. I had lost my job and my hubby was self-employed. I launched Addicted to Saving in November of 2009 and it has grown by leaps and bounds. Since then, my hubby and I have struggled with the ups and downs of two failed adoptions and are now LOVING being parents to our little man Asher who we brought home from Ethiopia in August of 2013. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to help you save money. My goal is that you will have FUN and become empowered to save more and more money each week..