Black Friday ain’t what it used to be.
It used to be 24 hours of shopping craziness. Then it stretched into Cyber Monday. Then the stores started leaking their ads a few weeks early and places starting matching each other. Last year with Thanksgiving being so late Amazon started sales at the end of October. And that brings me to my point.
Retailers want your money. And they don’t particularly care WHEN they get it. We have now entered the last quarter of the year- they have sales goals to meet and they can meet them in October or December.
The sales are starting now. Your saving can start now.
Here are a few tips for starting your shopping:
Make a List and Set A Budget: This is a must do for anyone. Before you start shopping you need to know who you are shopping for and what you have to spend. Consumers have gotten smarter with their spending over the last seven years and it’s one of the reasons retailers are starting earlier. They know once you run out of money you stop shopping. The earlier they can get into your wallet the better.
Start looking now for the deals: While there are absolutely some little things that pop up for sale on Black Friday at unheard of prices, if you are looking for a very specific television or certain toy you might be just as likely to find a deal now as you will be when your stomach is full of turkey.
Keep Your Receipts: Many stores will match a price AFTER you purchase an item. For example at Target if the price on the item goes down up to 7 days after you buy it, they will match the price.
Pre-Shop On-Line: Before you go into a store check the price online. Have a ballpark idea of what the item should cost. Many larger stores will match online prices since you can basically stand in their store and buy the item on your phone in front of them. They would rather you help meet their stores bottom line than the corporate bottom line.
Obviously I will have TONS of Black Friday deals on this website. It’s a specialty of mine and something I like doing. But beginning today I am also looking for the deals that can have you saying “I was done with my shopping before Thanksgiving.” You know you have always been jealous of the people who did that-now you can be one of them on a budget!
