One Thursday a year is dedicated to sitting around the table in stretchy pants, gorging on turkey, stuffing and gravy, and giving thanks for all of the good things in life: Thanksgiving.
One Friday a year is dedicated to throwing on your sneakers, grabbing your wallet or purse, no matter how pudgy you feel, and joining the hundreds of other crazy, deal-seeking shoppers on a sweat-breaking quest for the best savings.
The Friday in question? Black Friday.
Many freak out just thinking about all the gifts they have to buy. But, Black Friday doesn’t have to be the darkest of all days. You just have to know where to look.
Here's your money-saving game plan:
Many companies will have extra online deals you won’t find in stores, like Target, Circuit City, and Walmart.
Walmart.com will offer online specials, not only on Black Friday, but Thanksgiving, too. That's something to be thankful for! They will offer online specials and free shipping. Plus, in-stores Friday, you'll find the biggest savings from 5am to 11am, like $4 jeans and sleepwear.
Now, plenty of web sites are helping you chart your shopping course on Black Friday.
Bfads.net tells you when stores will be open, the sales you should look out for, plus where you can find the best coupons. Just think, you already have the Black Friday deals ahead of you. Ad a coupon on top of that and you’re really saving money, honey.
Some of the deals you can find on this site are:
- TomTom® ONE 130S GPS Receiver: $199 (originally $249) at RadioShack
- Banana Republic will offer 40% off the entire store midnight Nov. 28- Nov. 30
- Up to 68% off boys and girls Heelys shoes at the Sports Authority
A great place to look for coupons is Wow-Coupons.com. The site offers an extensive list of printable, in-store and online coupons to use at your favorite stores.
Some other coupon sites that’ll wow the socks right off of you are CouponCabin.com, Printable-Coupons.com, FlamingoWorld.com, and eCoupons.com, SalesCircular.com.
SundaySaver.com will help those of you who missed the Sunday circulars, too. You can find the coupons you missed from Sunday's paper.
One of the coolest web sites, DealAlerter.com, does window shopping for you! Plug in the items you're looking for and the site checks stores each day until it finds the item at the price you want. you can also set your price. The web site will then alert you when the cost falls to your perfect price.
Another web site to look for sales is TGIBlackFriday.com. Thank goodness the deals are easy to find! This site posts Black Friday ads for all major stores, like Walmart, Office Depot and Macy’s.
Are you looking for deals in a specific store? BlackFriday.info organizes deals and ads by store for easy searching. So, plan what stores you’ll be hitting up and search for deals prior to shopping.
If you’re shopping at Old Navy, you’ll find:
- Sweaters for $15
- Women's fleece hoodies and pants (Saturday only) for $10
Even better than running to the store and literally battling crowds (it can get violent out there!), is shopping online. Some of the best holiday deals can be found on the Internet. Black-Friday.net links to sale items online so you can just click and purchase!
If you will be shopping online, you need the secret codes that magically save you cash. Well, they’re not secret anymore! Just check out DealTaker.com for coupon codes.
But, if you gotta deal with shopping in the store, log on to GottaDeal.com. This site gives you all the in-store sale information you need to really bank on the perfect gift, in addition to online doorbusters.
GottaDeal reports:
- Boscovs.com has many Dooney & Bourke handbags for 50% off. Plus, get free shipping on $50 orders. Also, spend at least $75 and you'll get a free gift card ranging from $10 to $25 depending on your order total.
- Aeropostale’s entire store will be 50% off!
Once you order your gifts, you need to ship it, right? Just enter the destination zip code of your package at ShipGooder.com and you'll get price comparisons for the post office, FedEx and UPS.
Now, with all that said, or written, there are some really great promotions to be had this Black Friday. Amazon.com has great savings on products and eBay will be auctioning off products for just $1.
Each day, 100 items, like digital cameras and GPS devices, and one luxury item, like a brand-new car and a plasma TV, will be listed on eBay for a $1 fixed price! It’s worth getting in on that action! All you have to do is search eBay’s holiday doorbusters.
If all of these deals aren’t enough for you there are 100 web sites to check out where you are sure to save a bundle.
Happy shopping!
