We’re only a week away from Black Friday! Will you be heading to the stores?
I have a few tips to help you survive and thrive during the Black Friday madness excitement:
1. Set your Holiday Shopping Budget (if you haven’t already). Make sure you know how much money you have available to spend on Holiday and extra deals you have been waiting to pick up for yourself. While I’m not an advocate of shopping with cash on Black Friday (just for safety reasons); you do need to shop with your budget and available funds in mind.
2. Make a plan. Compare the Black Friday ads beforehand and determine which stores have the best price for the gifts on your Holiday Shopping list (most can already be found online). Once you know which stores have the best prices for you, determine what deals are a priority and which buys you are okay to miss if necessary. Then map out you’re shopping “battle plan” based on store hours and your “must-have” buys.
3. Research high-ticket items. Make sure to spend time researching items such as electronics, tools and appliances to make sure you are getting a quality product. If the product will not meet your expectations, it’s not really a deal.
4. Visit or call stores on Wednesday to determine how many of the years HOT buys they will have in stock and where the items will be located in the store. Also, ask how each store will handle who gets the limited quantity products. Will they hand out tickets in line outside of the store, have a deli counter ticket system set up or is it whomever makes it to the counter first?
5. Skip the shopping cart. Unless you’re planning on purchasing more items than you can carry, it’s much easier to weave through the throngs of people if you’re not trying to push a cart through a traffic jam in the electronics section.
6. Bring a friend. Having a shopping buddy is a great idea for several reasons. Safety – it’s dark and people just tend to get a bit more desperate as the Holiday’s approach. Divide and Conquer – split the wish list up to limit your time in the store and in the lines. Fun – shopping with a friend just makes it more fun!
7. Skip the Black Friday craziness and shop from home in your jammies on Cyber Monday.
