For better or worse, Black Friday is an American
institution.
But despite its runaway popularity - a record 226 million
shoppers visited a store or website during the 2011 weekend,
according to the National Retail Federation - Black Friday can
easily turn frustrating and costly for shoppers who don't plan
properly.
These 10 steps can lead to a disastrous Black Friday. The
alternative tips, on the other hand, may prove useful if you'd like
to avoid the "disastrous" part.
Sure, it's wonderful to sit down to turkey and all the fixings with
your loved ones. But this is precious time that could be spent
planning your evening attack. Comb every sale flyer you can find
for hot deals, but don't worry about doing the math on prices - see
step 2.
Alternative: Forget the shopping adventure ahead and enjoy
some sweet potatoes with your kids. Relaxing ahead of time should
leave more energy for later too.
Black Friday is about fun … along with consumerism and waste and
the attempt to fill the void in your soul with material items - but
mostly fun. Everyone knows that counting pennies is not fun, so buy
what you want and leave the calculations for later. There are great
deals everywhere, so how can you go wrong?
Alternative: Calculate precisely how much you want to spend
for each person on your list and stick to it - even if it means
leaving your
credit cards
at home.
Who better to help you navigate the chaos of Black Friday than your
friend who's spent the last year in treatment for her
compulsive spending disorder
? She knows this terrain, so there's almost no chance those
once-a-year deals and frenzied storefront scenes will cause her to
relapse, right?
Alternative: Seek out your sensible friend - the one who's
driven the same compact car since 2003 - to be your voice of
reason in the aisles.
Average cost of a gallon of gas in the U.S. today? Just under
$4. The knowledge that you scored every amazing deal within a
35-mile radius of your home? Priceless.
Alternative: Factor gasoline costs into your prospective
purchases at faraway stores. You may actually save money by
paying more at a store closer to home.
With deals everywhere, you'd have to be crazy to engage in
hand-to-hand combat with another shopper over something like a
discounted bread-maker - particularly since your competitive
instincts may be driving you more than your need for home-baked
bread. Crazy like a
fox
, that is.
Alternative: Don't start an altercation for the sake of
saving a few dollars. No discounted item is worth an ejection
from your local retailer - or worse.
Nothing beats the elation of scoring a $99 tablet - even though
the price cuts elsewhere in that store have likely been weakened to
protect margins. In any case, there are only 50 of them up for
grabs, so it's going to pay to get there early. Aren't you glad you
skipped dinner?
Alternative: If a door-buster is the only reason you're
visiting the store, you may save more by going somewhere that
offers low prices on multiple items you want.
Once you have that tablet - or perhaps only a fractured eye socket
- it's time to turn your attention to the kids. While it may have
been ideal to buy that must-have item on their list in October,
when its price was 30 percent below its current figure, finding one
now should still be a cinch given how much ground you'll be
covering tonight.
Alternative: Go in search of that toy before Black Friday.
Otherwise you're likely to exert more effort and pay more for the
item - if you even find it.
Again, this is Black Friday. Is it even possible that prices could
be lower at any other time of the year? Well, consumer surveys have
indicated that prices
may indeed be lower
at other times of the year. But that bustling crowd around you is
all the proof you need that this is the best shopping opportunity
of the year - if not decade.
Alternative: Review the regular prices of sale items before
you visit the store. Not every Black Friday "deal" represents a
deep discount.
As the first rays of sunshine peak over the horizon, other, weaker
shoppers may concede that their judgment has been seriously eroded
by six hours of frenzied buying and head home. That's when you
strike, scooping up the overlooked deals that their "better
judgment" prevented them from buying.
Alternative: Pick up what you budgeted for and head home to
rest as soon as you can - lest you spend the rest of your day off
unconscious on the couch.
Yes, you may have been able to find some similar deals two days
later, all while sitting on the couch in your pajamas. But looking
back on your Black Friday - the excitement, the competition, the
driving, the endless lines, the crushing
credit card bill
that mounted throughout the night - it's clear that no other
shopping experience could ever quite match it.
Alternative: Remember that Black Friday is the beginning of
shopping season - not the end.
More from MoneyRates.com on saving and spending:
Protecting your savings from the holidays
5 ways to strengthen your budget
5 purchases you may not want to save on