Black Friday Shopping Resources

The countdown is on… it’s only 8 more days until Black Friday!

Now that you are prepared for holiday shopping with your list and budget, it’s time to do some planning for Black Friday sales. (Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, for those of you who haven’t heard the term before.)

Black Friday Sites

Black Friday at GottaDeal.com. This is my favorite site because you can select the items you want and maintain a shopping list as the ads come out. They also point out which items can be bought online if you want to avoid the crowds. In addition, the discussion in the forums is usually fun to follow.

Here are some other sites that I’ve checked out:

• Black Friday Ads
• Black Friday Central
• blackfridayads.com
• iBlack Friday
• Black Friday.net

Favorite Black Friday Resources

Most Wanted. Once I made my list, I cross-check it with the most wanted list at Gotta Deal. That way I know which items on my list I might need to prioritize. It’s not an exact science but it lets me know the popularity, which comes into play when planning my route.

Excel Spreadsheet. Each year I use the Black Friday excel spreadsheet that is posted in the Fat Wallet Forums. It’s an easy way to search for specific things on your list, sort by price, and work on your shopping list.

Expanding File. The key to Black Friday is organization. Once I have my list and route planned, I organize everything and put it into my expanding file.

One pocket per store in order of shopping. Each pocket contains an envelope with the list for that store, coupons I have, which credit card to use, and the back-up plan if an item is already gone. Then on Thanksgiving day, I pull out all the ads from the newspaper and put a copy of each ad in the pocket.

It makes it easy on Black Friday, each time we go to a store, I just grab the envelope. As we wait in line, my mom and I go through the list and divide it up.

Free List. My favorite list is the list of all the free items on Black Friday. I searched all over, but couldn’t find one, so I made my own. Here it is: Black Friday 2008 Free Stuff!

Skip the crowds, shop online. Not too keen on getting up early and fighting the crowds? You can shop Black Friday at Amazon online and check out Online Shopping Resources: Cyber Monday and Beyond.

My Black Friday Plans

After all this… I’m so excited I can’t wait for next week! However, this year we are traveling to visit family for Thanksgiving. So my Black Friday plans are derailed!

Maybe I’ll convince my mother-in-law to hit some sales with me or do some shopping online, but it won’t be the same as at home. That’s OK though, I’d much rather spend time with family.

Plus I have plans to live vicariously though you! I’m hoping that all of you will share your Black Friday stories with me next week!

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