Hey! Are you ready for some holiday shopping? I am! I generally use Black Friday to do holiday gift shopping and a little bit of my own personal shopping.
I am going to ease your stress and help you maximize your Black Friday budget! These preparation tips will tell you everything I do, and all the tricks I have learned when I am shopping offline.
Here’s how to get the most out of your Black Friday shopping experience with my Black Friday Shopping Prep Tips
- Plan your budget. Decide how much you would like to spend. This is important and should be done before you even make a list.
- Make a list. List what you’d like to purchase. You can even go beyond that by categorizing them. I use categories such as electronics, apparel, jewelry, home goods, etc.
- Look for Deals! My personal recommendation is , great for finding the best Black Friday , discounts and coupons. You’ll learn about popular products, so if you’re having a hard time deciding what to get someone Slickdeals will definitely help. They also provide information on when Black Friday Ads are released and much more.
- Compare prices. Now that you’ve checked out stores and , it’s important to compare prices so you can maximize your budget more.
- Download store apps! With most apps, you can sign in with an account, save coupons and save receipts. Some apps even offer additional coupons that won’t be in promotional newsletters.
- Plan a Shopping Route. I do this with each of my shopping trips. It’s a great skill I learned from Michael last Thanksgiving. For Black Friday, I generally start from wherever I am spending Thanksgiving. If you are spending Thanksgiving out of town, it is very important that you know what stores are nearby, how far they are, how long it will take to get there, what time they open and then you can plan accordingly. A great thing to do is be at the store early so you can have first dibs on the stuff you want.
- Research store policies. This will let you know about returns and exchanges and if there’s something like a restocking fee. This research will help you determine if you want to shop at some stores especially if it’s for a gift.
- Get a Store Credit Card with Discounts. This step is for people with financial discipline only! It’s easy to forget about your budget with a credit card in hand, so tread lightly. If you are not disciplined stick to cash purchases or walking with enough cash (because you followed the steps above and know what you want to buy and how much you’ll need to avoid overspending) will allow you to stick to your allotted budget. Always research store credit cards and see what they offer. Some offer additional savings such as 5% off each time you make a purchase with your card. This works well if you’re going to make a major purchase(s) from a store. Be sure to check out the fees, interest rates, etc. as you would on any card to ensure it’s worth it. The last thing you want to do is get a card for 5% savings on purchase with an incredibly high-interest rate.
Holiday shopping can be hard! So my fellow Black Friday bargain hunters, make sure you plan and do thorough ! Have fun and be courteous to others while you shop.
