It's that time of the year again. With the holiday season just around the corner and Thanksgiving only a few days away, everyone's scrambling to get their holiday shopping done. The holidays are always a crazy time of the year, especially because of Black Friday. Black Friday always has shoppers out from the very early hours of the morning, to late at night all to score some great deals. It's important to have a game plan, and know where to find the best deals before jumping into the chaos this Black Friday. Here are five tips that may be helpful to you during your holiday shopping:
1. Know which stores you're going to and stick to them
If you'll be shopping at a mall or shopping center this Black Friday, it's a good idea to already know what stores you may want to go to. If you already know where you're going to go, it will till be chaotic wherever you go, but already knowing which stores you're going to can help reduce it slightly. You'll be able to get in and out of there quicker if you have an idea of what you're looking for as well, that way you can move on to your next destination.
2. Go shopping with one or more people
I can't tell you how many times I've been in a store, ready to check out and then figure out that there's something else I wanted, but couldn't get to it because of the insane crowd. Typically when this happens, I'm by myself in the store. It's a good idea to bring one or multiple people with you when you go into a store. This allows you to split ways to look for specific items in different areas of a store. Doing this will also help you get in and out of there quicker.
3. Get coffee and food beforehand
This may or may not seem like common sense, but if you want coffee or anything while you're shopping, get it before you go. Coffee shops and food courts within malls and shopping centers will be absolutely packed. You could end up spending more time waiting in line for food or coffee than it would have taken you to go by a few stores.
4. Research deals online before shopping, to know if they're actually worth it.
Black Friday is known for having extreme markdowns at 50% to sometimes even 80% percent off. Some stores like Victoria's Secret have their bras at 50% off through November 30th. If you're a regular shopper at places like this, then you probably know the average price for some of their popular items. Some stores have been known to raise the prices on some items before Black Friday and then put a sale on it to make it seem like you're getting a good deal, which you really may be getting. You might also get a better deal though, if you wait to shop during the days after Black Friday just depending on the store. This is why it's good to look at certain store's websites to decide if their deals will be worth the time spent in there.
5. Use coupons and rewards
Black Friday is all about saving money, so why not save even more? You can look online for coupons and print them out so that they're ready to go when you are. If you're a loyalty member with any rewards programs, make sure to use your rewards card because some places may give out extra points, which in turn, puts you closer to getting a reward. If you've been saving up rewards points for a while, you may want to go ahead and use them, so that you can save even more money.
