Welcome to another installment of Man-Day, from Jen’s husband Jen’s Guy!
If you are going to Walmart anywhere between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 am for Black Friday shopping, you either need a new TV or are just crazy. I am probably thinking it is the later…
There is a better way to do your Black Friday shopping, like a boss, and I am going to share with you how.
Online is a Thing. You should look into it.
One of my favorite things on Thanksgiving night is to get the children to bed, then sitting snug in my warm pajamas with a nice mug of hot chocolate with the last bit of whipped cream I hid from the pumpkin pie eaters, start my Harry Connik Jr. Christmas CD playing softly, and to complete my Christmas shopping in 30 minutes.
That’s right, I said 30 minutes.
Even better, I’m on Mountain Standard time, so the latest I would ever need to stay up is until 1:30 for the stores who do not start their specials until midnight Pacific. Click, click, click and I’m asleep before the crazy people can even get into the store.
The trick is preparation. You have to know what the deals are, where they are at, and what time they are available, and have a game plan in place before Black Friday rolls around. Not being disciplined can cost you valuable time and you may miss the special you are looking for. That is where the hard work is.
Fortunately I am here to help you out.
Find the Deals.
If you want to do the research, you have to know the sites to go to. Here are a few:
BFads.com
This is seriously a great go to place for up to the minute deals. For instance it will tell you that Kohl’s online Black Friday has ALREADY begun with an additional 15% off code and loads of Kohl’s cash.
Amazon Lightning Deals
To get the good deals here you have to be FAST. Many items will go in a few seconds. Others will last a few hours depending on how popular the item is. Don’t bet the house that you will get the deal. Have a backup plan.
Deal News
Breaks down the best deals by item. Probably a good place to start if you have no idea what you are looking for and just want to browse.
CheapAssGamer
Charming name, Amazing results. Love these guys.
If you are looking for anything to do with Gaming, get to know these guys. If you follow the message boards, they will also give you the skinny on price matching and other things. The biggest skinflints in the entire world live here.
Make sure that you have all the proper logins ahead of time, and KNOW your password.
Some of these deals will go in minutes. If you are fumbling around with creating a login, you could lose out. Once you have identified your deal, make sure that you can get to, and buy the item in a couple of clicks. That way you can move to the next item with alacrity. Nice, huh?
Prioritize.
It is probable that you won’t get everything you want in time, so start with the most needed or better priced items first.
Showing up in person.
There are times when you may need to show up in person. The trick is to pick your store wisely. Toys-R-Us, Walmart, and Best Buy will be retail Hell! Last year we needed a new Christmas tree. Home Depot had the $200 Martha Stewart Trees for $70. I showed up at 4:30 am (about #20 in line) the doors opened at 5:00 a.m., I was out of the store with my tree by 5:15 am, and was home asleep by 6:00 am. It is a whole different crowd at the home improvement and local merchant stores than you get at most of the chain retailers. You can hit drugstores like CVS and Walgreens early in the morning (early like 6:00 am) and get good deals without losing much sleep and knife-fighting.
Man I love that tree. . .
Lick you wounds.
OK you may not have gotten everything you tried to get. The good news is that you have 2 more days to prepare for Cyber Monday. Rinse, Lather, Repeat.
Perspective.
The reason I do my shopping early is to get most everything out of the way so I can enjoy the rest of the Holidays without spending too much more time in a store. It is just as good for my sanity as it is for my checkbook. I never make the mistake of impulse buying just because something is on sale. I focus on needs and a few wants and feel fortunate that my family has what we do. We always put back a little to make sure that we can help those less fortunate than ourselves, and share that experience with our children.
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