5 Tips for Saving Even More on Black Friday
As any junior accountant will tell you, to be "in the black" is to be profitable.
Thus, "Black Friday" is the day when retail stores begin to make some serious bank.
Despite the Christmas lights going up at Costco in August, the day after Thanksgiving is the official start of the Christmas shopping season.
As it turns out, it has always been this way.
The term "Black Friday" was coined by the taxi and bus drivers in Philly as far back as 1961. Back then, those cabbies and drivers were freaking out because of all the added traffic. It really didn't have anything to do with camping outside a store.
Believe it or not, those stores had regular hours. This spending the night on the sidewalk only started within the last several years with the introduction of "door buster" deals to entice shoppers.
If you want to get the most out of your Black Friday shopping pay heed to these insightful tips:
Tip #1: Do Your Homework
You can pitch a tent outside of Best Buy on Thanksgiving night but unless you know what you're shopping for you're just wasting that camping trip.
Every store that is having a Black Friday sale will also have flyers for that sale and those flyers will be posted online. Use those flyers to map out your shopping strategy.
If you've got family members then "divide and conquer" is always a good way to go.
Tip #2: Clip Your Coupons
Even with the deepest of deep cuts on a Black Friday sale item there is always room for more savings.
Once again, fire up the interwebs and look for those coupons that are store and brand specific.
Tip #3: Know Your Return Policy
Two words you should avoid at all costs: "as is."
That means whatever you're buying you're going to be stuck with.
This is why you need to learn about the store's return policy to make sure if something doesn't fit or if it is broken you can bring it back.
There are a lot of "caveats" with Black Friday deals. Don't get trapped with those products. For the love of Tom Turkey, hold onto those receipts as if they were gold.
Tip #4: Let The Hoards Go First
Depending on the store, the Black Friday morning opening could look like the Battle of the Blackwater without the wildfire.
Instead of fighting those hordes let them have their $5 Blu-Ray players. By lunchtime, the dust will have settled and you'll still be able to land some sweet deals.
Tip #5: Wait For Cyber Monday
As retail outlets shrink, online outlets are picking up the slack.
That is why Cyber Monday is growing in size each year.
You could probably sit out Black Friday and instead take to cyberspace on Monday to score the exact same deals.
Actually, you might find even more options online. What is on your Black Friday shopping list?