Thanksgiving is by far the best time of the year. Good food, tons of deals, and Christmas music. Black Friday is a tradition of Thanksgiving week, but there seems to be a black cloud around it. Especially with the older generation, who regard Black Friday as some sort of nationwide brawl over TV’s at Walmart. Everyone that I have talked with, including my own mother, has said that they would love to get some deals for Christmas, but do not want to battle the crowds. Sure, there are some isolated events and I would not want to be working during Black Friday, but it’s worth it. I’ve gone two years in a row so far and although I may not have been shopping long enough to vouch for every story, I have never seen a fight. The only rudeness I’ve witnessed so far has been a woman making a racist comment over another woman cutting in line. Which it’s 2016, I live in the deep south, and Trump just got elected, so that is to be expected.

Black Friday is so worth it, especially if you’re ballin’ on a budget. I want to give my friends and family the world, because hello they put up with me all year, but it’s hard to do when you’re a jobless college student. Most places even have deals for the whole weekend, so you don’t have to battle the crowd of over-stuffed shoppers.

You can get a lot more bang for your buck if you plan. It’s comparable to extreme couponing, but maybe not as crazy and you only have to do it one day out of the year. Even if you’re not great at math or combining coupons, you can at least plan where you’ll go. It’s not completely necessary to make a list of what you need because I personally think it’s way more fun if you just go without a list. Plus, you’ll always find deals where you didn’t know they had them. For example, I got TWO lamps for $4.99 at Walmart, and I defiantly didn’t plan on buying lamps of all things.

Another common misconception is that you must wait in long lines out in the cold starting at 8:00 in the morning Thanksgiving Day. First, it was freezing this year. No one wants to get frostbite trying to get that cute pair of boots. Personally, I like to leave Thanksgiving night at around 10:00, and then come home about 4:00 on Friday. Though I am an 18-year-old who can pull all-nighters, so this might not be an option for those who like to have a normal sleep schedule or have children. However, the lamp I mentioned earlier was bought at about 3:00 the next day at Walmart. So, you don’t have to get up super early or go to bed later to get good deals!

Black Friday is something I never considered doing until last year, and it was one of the best decisions. I get a lot of my Christmas shopping done. All I will recommend is lots of coffee and an itinerary!