One of the most anticipated days of the year is almost here! Is it Thanksgiving? Christmas? New Year’s? No. It’s Black Friday!
For you bargain shoppers, Black Friday is a discounter’s dream. With so many deals at so many stores, it can be hard to even know where to start! Which is why you need to have have a plan and solid strategy for making the most of the biggest shopping day of the year.
One strategy is to wait until Cyber Monday and shop in your PJs! That’s what I would do! But if you are like many, hitting the stores at 12am (or earlier) is such a much loved tradition that you’ll brave the crowds this adult-sized treasure hunt.
Here are just some of the Black Friday shopping tips offered by Clark Howard.
Use Discounted Gift Cards
Did you know you can save money before you even start your shopping? The secret is discounted gift cards. For instance, gift cards purchased at Sam’s Club may be discounted as much as 25% off of face value. This means that a $100 gift card may only cost you $75. Add that savings to your Black Friday deals, and you will wow your friends with your money-saving prowess!
If you have kids that attend private school or are involved in extra-curricular activities, you may also be familiar with SCRIP. This is a fundraising program through which you purchase gift cards and the organization receives a percentage back. Some organizations may even credit back some of the discount toward tuition or fees. You’ll pay face value for the cards, but it may be worth looking into!
Prioritize
Before you begin your shopping trip, prioritize the items you want. Since quantities may be limited, you should secure your high-priority items first. Rank your items by store, then by order of importance for each store. When you arrive at the store, go directly to your top priority items first.
Don’t Go Alone
Shopping is more fun with a friend! That aside, shopping with a friend will allow you to tag-team in the store, so you can cover more ground. If you have more than one top-priority item on your list, you can head to one area of the store while your friend heads to another, increasing your chances that you can secure both items before quantities run out.
Just be sure to reciprocate, so your friend can also grab the items important to him/her! This is where a strategy can help, so that if you both have items in the same areas of the store, you can consolidate your searches.
Leave the Kids at Home
Aside from the obvious – how can Santa shop for secret items if the kids are present? – leaving the kids at home has obvious advantages. First, is safety. Crowded stores can pose certain risks for young kids. Secondly, it’s hard to focus on executing your plan if you are chasing kids all over the store. You may miss some good deals! So leave the kids with Grandma or your spouse, and enjoy your time away!
Put Your Smart Phone to Use
While you are in the store, have a copy of the Black Friday ad, your list, and your cell phone handy. Your cell phone can be a handy device to make sure you are getting the best price on items that you want to purchase. There are numerous apps out there that will let you scan the barcode with your smart phone and search for the best prices from both online stores and brick-and-mortar stores.
You may run across items during your shopping trip that aren’t part of the Black Friday sale. So it’s handy to make sure you are getting the best price before you put it in your cart.
Find more tips at Clark Howard.
Happy shopping! Whether you are buying or selling in Fountain Hills, Susan Pellegrini and Karen DeGeorge are ready to put their care and expertise to work for you. Buying or selling, our first-class service comes with a wealth of experience and eye for detail, ready to focus on you. Visit our website to learn more and contact us or give us a call at (480)- 315-1575, we’re here for you.
