3 Tips for Successful Black Friday Shopping

It's Black Friday Season!

Last minute Christmas gifts? Just want to treat yourself? Trying to motivate yourself to finish the semester strong? All are great reasons to check out the hot Black Friday sales!

If you have never shopped Black Friday deals you are missing out! About 174 million people shop Black Friday! I will admit that it can be a little intimidating though. Mobs of people rushing to get what they want, so many deals and so many options to choose from! Where do you even begin? Well let me share some of my insights as well as advice from some seasoned professionals.

Make a List

Having a game plan could be the difference between success and failure!

Every good shopper knows that a list is crucial. And that doesn’t change on Black Friday! Stores start rolling out their deals towards the end of October which gives you plenty of time to start making your perfect Black Friday Shopping List.

Another important part of list making is prioritizing. Prioritize your list by store and by item and then when you get to each store head straight to the department of your most important must buy item. This saves you time wandering and ensures that you get those big ticket items.

Check Prices Before

Check prices before you go so you know the deals when you see them.

Doesn’t checking the price before seem silly when you know it will be on sale in just a few days? Actually it’s not as silly as you might think. For one, if you know what the price was before and then you see the killer deal you’ll be confident in your purchase instead of having buyer’s remorse later.

Also, checking prices before helps you know if the deal is really a deal. Especially on the less important things on your list. If you are not sure about buying something right now, knowing the initial price and comparing it to the Black Friday price could persuade you to buy it! Or else help you realize that the deal isn’t worth it and maybe you’ll wait until you can just save up for the original cost.

Make a Budget and Stick to It!

Sticking to a budget will help you avoid buyers remorse!

We already know that budgets are an important part of life, but why do we need one specifically for Black Friday? Well, how much can you actually spend this Black Friday Season? If you have one or two things that you are really needing to get, budgeting for those items and sticking to that budget will help you avoid a lot of strife later on.

A good way to stick to your budget is to use cash! With your budget fixed and cash in hand you can leave your credit cards at home. This will make sure that you aren’t tempted to just throw in this extra thing and that extra thing until you’ve way outspent your budget!

Black Friday Success

Shopping with friends is always more fun than shopping alone!

Even though Black Friday can be really stressful, you can score some really great deals. It’s the perfect time to purchase items for events you know you have coming up like Christmas or weddings. And if you follow these tips it can help make your Black Friday experience go smoothly.

And don’t worry! If you miss out on Black Friday there is always Cyber Monday!