Chances are, you are considering your Black Friday options right now. And it makes sense. After all, Black Friday has become a monumental shopping day. Retailers whip up a frenzy surrounding certain items, sales and deals. If you want the best, in some cases, you have to be willing to wait for hours in the cold, and fight your way through the crowds.
Indeed, Black Friday has become an occasion that requires a great deal of advance planning. If you are interested in going out on Black Friday, here are some tips for helping you survive the shopping frenzy:
- Look online for the advance deals: The first step is to check out advance deals. Many retailers release what they plan to offer online. You can also go to web sites that specialize in offering updates on Black Friday offerings to get an idea of what will be offered — and where.
- Sign up for alerts: If you have a favorite store, you can sign up for e-mail alerts — or even text alerts. Watch for exclusive deals and coupons when you sign up for these alerts. You will find out the latest, and find it out fairly early.
- Return policies and price guarantees: Before Black Friday arrives, make sure that you understand the return policy, and price guarantee policies. Find out which stores offer to allow you to return item bought on Black Friday, as well as special restrictions on returning electronics or games. Also, ask about price guarantees, and how long you have to find a lower price elsewhere.
- Plan your route ahead of time: Armed with the information you find online, and with other information you have, you can plan your route. Figure out what is most important to you. That is the store you will start with, standing in line for hours, waiting for your first-choice doorbuster. Then, plan your route from there, hitting stores in the order of importance, or if you aren’t too picky, the order that makes for the most efficient route.
- Snacks and water: Be prepared ahead of time, keeping snacks and water in your car. That way, you won’t have to worry about when you are going to eat, and you will keep hydrated throughout. Keep yourself going in between stores.
- Leave people home: Don’t try to drag the kids along, and don’t bring your spouse if he or she is not into Black Friday like you are. All that will happen is that you will be hampered, and your family will be miserable.
Do You Really Need to Go Out on Black Friday?
Of course, the ultimate survival tip is to just stay home on Black Friday. I’m not a huge fan of going out on Black Friday — I don’t think it’s worth my time. You can actually get a lot of great deals online. Do your shopping without leaving the couch. And, in many cases, you will even get free shipping when you make online purchases.
Another consideration is that Black Friday might not actually help you have a frugal Christmas. You might want to reconsider your Black Friday habits, and whether or not you actually need Black Friday to have a successful Christmas.
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