Black Friday Deals

There's nothing like waking up before the sun rises (way before) to stand in line at 4:00 a.m., watching your breath rise in smoky swirls until the clock chimes 6:00 a.m. and the store opens. Ahh, tradition.

Of course, you can do all of your holiday bargain shopping online these days, but then you would miss the mad dash to the electronics department, the thrill of fighting your way through the sea of people and claiming the very last gaming console priced perfectly at $299.99. Sweet victory.

If you have ever participated in Black Friday, you know how madly insane it is, but also how fantastic it can be. Black Friday is an experience, one that is a tradition with many friends and families who mark the day after Thanksgiving as their favorite during the holiday season.

In past years, you may have made an effort to wake up early and get in line with the masses, but fell short of getting to the hot-ticket items before others snatched them up. But this year is going to be different. This year you have prepared. You are organized. You. Are. Ready! Get out the war paint, sharpen those elbows and grab your lists because Black Friday is quickly approaching.

Black Friday Preparation

One Month Before

Do your homework: A month before Black Friday, research the items – electronics especially – that you are interested in. You can find comprehensive comparisons on laptops, Smartphones, LED TVs, MP3 players, eBook Readers, Navigation GPS, Video Game Consoles and many more electronics on TopTenREVIEWS.com. At TopTenREVIEWS We Do the Research So You Don’t Have To.™

Once you have decided on the make and model of the products that you want, check your local advertisements in the Sunday paper or online every week prior to Black Friday. Create an Excel document or use paper and pencil to catalog your items and their prices at various stores. When the Black Friday ads are finally released, you will have a firm grasp on what deals are true Black Friday deals and should not be missed.

Use your resources: If you have friends who are also looking to score some major Black Friday deals, then networking is the best answer. With all of you pooling your resources, you should have a nice little nest egg of information regarding new deals, coupons and local or national sales events occurring on or around Black Friday.

Find strength in numbers: Shopping Black Friday sales alone can be done of course, but we suggest, in earnest, that you acquire a shopping buddy. Grab 'em and drag 'em. Ask your mother, BFF, boyfriend, partner, neighbor, etc. With two or more people by your side, you can divide and conquer, each scooping up multiples of items in the electronics, toy and clothing departments, covering all of your bases and filling your carts with fabulous holiday goodies.

Create a budget: Money, money, money. There is never enough of it, especially around the holidays, right? So it is absolutely crucial that you take a hard look at your financial situation and make realistic and smart decisions about your holiday budget. Create a budget and STICK TO IT!

If it helps, you can start by telling your children that Santa is on a budget this year and ask them to choose one big item, then fill in their list with smaller, less expensive items. This way everyone will be happy on the big day.

Mid-November - Thanksgiving Day

Check Online: The internet, as you know, is an almighty source of information, a tool that you can wield in your favor to become the ultimate Black Friday shopper. Our favorite Black Friday preparation tools reside here, on the web. The following sites compile a comprehensive database of the hundreds of stores that participate in Black Friday. On these sites, you can find the best Black Friday deals and scans of hundreds of Black Friday ads. Many Black Friday ads will actually become available mid-November. These sites will help you continue your research in finding the best deals, early-bird sales events and more:

dealnews.com/black-friday – DealNews is a stupendous site for daily deal rummaging, but it also provides a selection on the best Black Friday deals. DealNews sorts deals by Store, Categories, Hottest and Deals. If you are looking for a specific product, you can use the search bar and the results will pull from all recorded Black Friday sales. Quick and efficient.

bfads.net – Creating a shopping timeline is important for your Black Friday success. Black Friday Ads offers an Online Black Friday Sales Timeline, which chronicles numerous stores, when their Black Friday sales begin, if there are door busters and, for online shoppers, if there is free shipping.

blackfriday.gottadeal.com – Gottadeal.com does something that other Black Friday sales sites do not do: They create comparison charts for some of the most popular product categories. You can join their mailing list and receive a notification every time they post a new ad.

black-friday.net – Black-Friday.net feverishly updates their Black Friday ads as they receive them. You can register to receive a notification each time a new ad posts to the site. This site will also post Cyber Monday deals and early Black Friday events. We love this particular site because not only does it post hundreds of Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday deals, it also organizes the deals categorically and provides direct links to each product, so you can purchase the deal quickly. Do all of your holiday shopping at home and still save loads of moolah.

blackfriday.info – BlackFriday.info collects Black Friday deals from over 100 retailers and sorts the deals into specific categories such as electronics, clothing and apparel, sports and fitness and over 20 more, creating a comprehensive catalogue of the best Black Friday deals. BlackFriday.info publishes ad scans from many retailers and will post pre-Black Friday deals and other sales surrounding the biggest shopping day of the year. You can join their mailing list to receive updates.

Twitter – You can follow multiple Black Friday accounts on Twitter. Our favorites include @blackfriday, @blackfriday.net and @blackfriday_fm.

Make Lists: Lists are essential to successful holiday shopping. Electronics, toys, clothing, movies, music, gift cards, etc. The list for your family and friends may seem endless, but thanks to your Black Friday preparation, you will score tons o' bounty for all of your loved ones.

If you subscribe to your local newspaper, your Thanksgiving Day issue will be jam-packed with store ads. You can create a "master list" using these ads, as well as from the information you gather from the comprehensive Black Friday sites we mentioned above. We suggest you organize the master list accordingly:

• Create a timeline. What store do you absolutely have to go first? That should be at the top of your list.

• Under each store name on your list, jot down the products you are hoping to purchase. If you are familiar with the store, we suggest that you group products according to their location in the store.

• Next to the product name, write down the advertised price of the item.

• At the end of each store's list, write down the dollar amount that you expect to spend in that store. At the bottom of your list, total all of the individual numbers to get your grand total.

Creating a master list will take some time, but having a handle on these details will help you know exactly where to go in the store, what to buy and how much you will spend.

Black Friday, Nov. 25, 2011

Today's the day! Whether you are staying home and bargain shopping online, or indulging in the thrilling early-morning festivities, we hope you have followed our tips and are now ready to get your shopping on. We wish you the best of luck in your Black Friday and Cyber Monday endeavors. Enjoy the savings!