Every shopaholic’s favorite day of the year is only two weeks away and this time it’s arriving even earlier. This year Black Friday will be stretching into turkey day, so that shoppers can walk off their food coma at the mall. While Black Friday is filled with great deals, if shoppers aren’t prepared, they’re bound to dish out more cash than they have to. To keep that from happening, here are the top 3 things every collegiate should do before hitting the stores.
Create a Shopping List
Organization is key. Start making your shopping list now. Who are you buying a Christmas present for and what are you buying them? This way you can avoid forgetting a present and missing out on some of the best sales of the year. By making a list you can also avoid buying too much. With all the sales, many shoppers get too excited and try to fit the whole store into their shopping cart. If you have a list it is easier for you to stick to only the things you need to buy. Creating a shopping list will also help you keep track of your spending and allows you to budget yourself properly. Write the price next to each item on your shopping list to get a ball park idea of how much you are spending.
Prioritize stores
Take a look at your shopping list and prioritize which gifts are most important for you to purchase, or which gifts are most important for you to get a sale on. Once you’ve made the list check out where they sell each gift and at what time the store opens. This year a lot of stores are starting Black Friday on Thanksgiving night. Best Buy and Wal-Mart will be opening 6pm on Thanksgiving and a few short hours after Macys, Sears, Target Office Max, Kohls, and J.C. Penney will be opening 8pm.
Don’t forget online
If you’re not a fan of the large crowds pushing and shoving you to get a good deal, take your shopping to the web. Online shopping isn’t just for Cyber Monday, Black Friday deals are still up online and most of the time, stores will offer free shipping on Black Friday.