Everything You Should Do Now If You’re Shopping on Black Friday
Black Friday is usually accompanied by a lot of excitement and excitement, despite its slightly depressing history . If you don’t take the right approach and prepare, you could make a few rookie mistakes and end up being exploited by retailers rather than the other way around. Luckily, we already have an idea of what to expect this Black Friday . If you want to become a more savvy shopper, here are some practical steps you can take to ensure success on November 24th.
First things first: have a budget.
It’s easy to get carried away by offers that seem like a good deal and that you can’t afford to miss. But buying blindly and letting your emotions take over usually leads to regrets and huge credit card balances down the road. Come with a plan. How much can you realistically afford to spend on Black Friday? Having such a device will help you spend more consciously and avoid impulse purchases. If you’re not sure where or how to start, there are budgeting apps tailored to your financial goals that can make getting started easier.
Know what you need/want
Besides knowing how much to spend, knowing what you really need or want will help you focus and avoid buying things you don’t really need. Make a list of things you want or need. They may not all go on sale, but if they do, you’ll be ready and happy.
Use the tools available to you
There are many apps to help you shop smarter. One of my favorites is Honey . You can save a list of items you want to buy this Black Friday by adding them to the Honey dropdown , and this has several benefits. First, it will keep the items you want to keep track of organized and easily accessible. Secondly, it will track the prices of these products and alert you when they go on sale at any major retail store. You can see what these pre-sale prices are worth to see if they are actually bargains or a ploy by retailers to take advantage of you , and even compare them to other major retailers to see who has the best deal. . You can see how to set up a droplist here . We’ll also keep you updated on the best verified Black Friday deals as soon as they start.
Shop online and in advance
Black Friday sales will inevitably start early, as they do every year. Best Buy set the tone this year by being the first to unveil its plan, starting sales on October 27. Buying early means you’ll get plenty of on-demand items that will likely sell quickly, and as Mashable’s shopping team warns , products that sell out early aren’t always restocked in time for the actual event. It’s best to buy them early if it’s a popular item that already has a good discount (Honey’s price history will tell you how good the discount is).
According to the National Retail Federation, most retailers not only avoid large crowds and possibly get trampled, but they also find that the majority of shopping during Black Friday week is done online . As such, many retailers are also putting their best deals online, making it more of a hybrid event, and most major retailers offer free shipping as part of their loyalty programs anyway.