Black Friday Shopping Tips
November 27, 2008
After all the eating and football on Thursday, it’s time to hit the stores early Friday morning. This season there has already been many sales but none are as deep and as fun as those on Black Friday. Here are some pointers from a seasoned Black Friday shopper on shopping and finding deals on Black Friday.
While there are several websites devoted to Black Friday deals. First, spend time visiting those websites to find the ads from the stores you plan to shop at. Then make a list of everything of interest to you. This isn’t necessarily a shopping list but a maybe shopping list. Jot down the store, item, and price as this will make it easy to find it and to comparison shop, too.
Get a good night’s rest and set that alarm for an hour before the first sale begins. You should dress for comfort for these early sales. Get out the jogging suit and comfortable tennis shoes because you can expect to spend a lot of time waiting in line to check out and sometimes for the actual merchandise.
Drink some coffee or soda to get wide awake by the time the sale begins. This is especially important if you are not a morning person.
If you are a woman, empty that purse but of the bare minimums. No need to carry around extra weight during the day. Keep your purse with you and don’t place it in the shopping cart. With extra people out shopping you can never be too careful.
Please don’t fight someone for the last of an item. Remember that there are thousands of stores that are available to you thanks to the Internet that will be anxious to take your money this holiday season. Sure Black Friday has some great deals but so does Cyber Monday.
Black Friday
November 19, 2008
If there is something on your shopping list this holiday, then chances are pretty good that you can find it on sale on Black Friday - especially if it’s electronics, video games, or toys.
One of the best sources to find local Black Friday deals is the local newspaper. Buy one Thanksgiving day or the day before(if their isn’t one published Thanksgiving) to find a cornucopia of Black Friday sales ads. If you can’t wait until then, there are some websites(well several!) that have posted Black Friday ads for 2008. Here are a few of them -
Makes those lists and hit the stores early.
Word of Mouth
November 5, 2008
Yesterday my sister-in-law told me about a sale at a local store. Apparently they have children’s sweatshirts for 50 cents each. She thought of me since I have a toddler and we are needing some warmer clothes for winter.
People love to share good news and most of us would agree that when we find a bargain that it is good news. Usually when people are shopping, they are shopping for others. So it makes sense when they see clothing, electronics, and other products that they are reminded of those people in their lives who are in the market to buy certain items.
So the next time you get a call, text message, or email from friend, don’t delay. It could be news of a good deal that will save you a lot of money.
Black Friday Deals?
October 7, 2008
Can you believe there is already talk and tallies being kept for Black Friday? We haven’t even gotten to Halloween yet and already deals from the largest shopping day are being released.
Wal-Mart recently announced that it will selling 10 popular toys like Barbie Dolls and specific Hot Wheels toys for $10. KB Toys has risen to the challenge and will match that price on Black Friday. It’s predicted that Best Buy will have HDTVs, laptops, and more on sale. Consumers should expect long lines - as if that is anything new - at the electronic store as people will be in the market for HDTVs to prepare for the ‘big switch’ next February.
I’m sure over the next two months there will be much more said and released about Black Friday deals. Here is a website to keep track of Black Friday flyers to help you with your holiday shopping.
The Clearance Aisle
July 21, 2008
This past month Wal-Mart has had some items on clearance of interest to me. It’s mostly electronic items. By keeping a close eye on this aisle for a couple of weeks, I’ve been able to actually snag some good bargains.
What you need to keep in mind when shopping on the clearance aisle is that if there is a lot of one type of merchandise, then it will probably come down more in price. A Wii points bundle that included a classic controller glove and 2000 Wii points started out on clearance at $14.50. There were probably at least 50 of these available. I opted to watch and see if they moved at the price. They didn’t and within a few weeks they were marked down to $10. So, I bought one pack. There were still plenty of the bundles on clearance. They finally were marked down to $5, so I bought a few more. Now I have 6,000 Wii points and only spent as much I has would have on 2000 points.
You can’t wait for everything to marked even further down on clearance. There has to be a lot of the stock left. Still it’s worth a stroll down the clearance aisle just to check out the bargains as you never know what might be on sale.
Travel Size Items
June 11, 2008
With summer here, many people will be traveling on vacation. Chances are that they will be picking up supplies before they begin their trip. One aisle they will most likely visit is the travel/trial section to pick up small sizes of deodorant, toothpaste, etc.
Most of these items will cost less than a $1, making it a great deal for travel since it’s smaller in size and will take up less room. But these nice deals can be enhanced further by using coupons.
A lot of times coupons will be for 99 cents or less off an item. Saving money is always nice but when you have 99 cents off $1 item, then it becomes really enticing.
So, next time you run across a coupon for 25 cents off toothpaste, don’t dismiss it. Remember that it can be used on trial/travel sizes. It can really add up in helping to save money when getting ready for your next vacation.
Father’s Day Giveaways
June 9, 2008
Over at the Goody Blog, they are having a Father’s Day blog party by giving away some great gifts for some lucky dads.
Just follow the link and click on an item to enter to win. To enter, just leave a comment on the blog entry for that item. Over $5,000 worth of prizes will be given away to 13 dads. Enter by midnight(Eastern time) this week.
Finding a Deal
April 30, 2008
A deal is only a deal if you can actually use the product. My roommate in college loved a sale. She would buy practically anything as long as it was on sale. She bought an egg timer one time because it was only 50 cents. Did she cook? No. “But it was only 50 cents!” she would proudly proclaim.
Pass up those sales items unless you actually use the item. It’s fun to look down the clearance aisle and gawk at the cheapness of it all. But if you will never take those items out of the packaging, then don’t buy it.
For items that you buy frequently, you probably know the relative pricing of it. This is how I know that some sales items are actually a good deal. If I usually pay $3 for a cleaning product and it’s on sale for $1.50, then that is a good deal. A lot of time sales items at one store will be close to the regular price at another one. Comparison shopping might be time consuming but can save you money.
Some of the best deals in your town can be found in your mailbox. Fliers go out weekly of sales and coupons. Also the local newspaper will have sales inserts that will point you to the deal in local brick and mortar stores.
So, don’t be so quick to throw away that junk mail, there might be a deal that is too good to pass up in there.
A Site To Find Deals
February 1, 2008
With only two weeks left to Valentines Day it’s time to place your order if you are shopping on-line. If you go to One Stop Holiday Shop you will find some of your most favorite stores. Most are having sales, clearances, and offer deals on shipping. Check out this site today!
Save Money by Buying at the Right Time
March 1, 2007
There was an interesting report on the news tonight about how making major purchases at the right time of year can save you money.
To get good deals, you should buy…
- Furniture and mattresses in late winter.
- Major appliances in either April or June.
- Televisions and towels in May.
- Bedding in June.
- Outdoor furniture and dining room sets in August.
- Housewares and china in September.
- Carpets in October.
- A new home in November.
- A new car in December.
The report also mentioned that you should plan to do seasonal buying either at the start or at the end of a season, but not in the middle. This is why: at the start of the season, inventories are high; at the end, merchants are trying to clear out and make room for new goods.
Happy shopping! 
