Survive Black Friday and Cyber Monday WIthout Breaking the Bank

Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be the perfect time to shop for gifts for the winter holidays (and even for special occasions throughout the rest of the year) with all of the great deals, but it is also very easy to spend way more money than you were intending to.

Remember, these shopping “holidays” are really ways for retailers to make money. They will not be taking a loss- some companies make significant percentages of their yearly profits during the holiday season. So don’t spend over your budget and do YOUR shopping at a loss!

The most important piece of advice to avoid disaster during all this holiday shopping is to make a list! If you don’t, you will almost certainly end up buying items on impulse. Know what you’re looking for, and know what you are willing to compromise on. Get an idea of what different stores are likely to carry the item, and what various brands you might see. Decide up front what you are willing to pay for that item. Check on Amazon to compare prices- sometimes what looks like a “great sale price” at the store doesn’t even compare to the price you can get for the same item on Amazon.

If you don’t have a specific item in mind, but rather have a general idea of something you’re looking for (kitchen gadgets for Mom; power tools for Dad; electronic toys for the twins; whatever), setting a budget and knowing what’s out there in advance becomes even more important.

So what are good things to look for? If you aren’t looking for something high end, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are perfect times to get great rates, as prices are usually really low on off brand items.

• Previous year’s video games
• DVD and BluRay players
• Bundled gaming consoles
• Off brand TV’s
• Clothing- but not winter clothing

All of this applies to both braving the stores on Black Friday as well as shopping online on Cyber Monday. However, planning for Black Friday may include quite a bit more effort in terms of logistics.

Don’t forget that the lines to return items after Black Friday can be just as long as the lines to get into the store before opening on Black Friday, and it may be this way for the duration of the holiday season. It is best to not plan on returning anything until well after New Year’s.

Cyber Monday will require some planning as well, and be prepared for technical difficulties as servers try and manage the huge numbers of people trying to check out all at once. Really great deals will go almost instantaneously, so make sure you’re somewhere with fast internet. Make sure you know in advance which stores offer free shipping as well.

Apps: Just search your phone’s app store for “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday”. Some good ones we’ve come across are TGI Cyber Monday and the DealNews app, called “Black Friday App”.
Resources:
BlackFriday.com
CyberMonday.com
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Friday/