Friday, November 18, 2016

Frugal Friday: Black Friday

Next week is Black Friday…to some, this is like the Super Bowl of shopping.  When I was probably 14 I went for the first time with my mom.  She went every year because that was the best way to purchase that one big item on any of my siblings Christmas lists.  It was like a rite of passage that I was allowed to go.  The one downside was that I might know some of my own Christmas presents and I definitely knew some of my siblings, so I had to keep a secret for almost a month.  For those of you who know me, that is really, really hard.  Black Friday shopping was so exciting to me.   We would get there before the store opened and wait in line and it would be freezing, but it was almost half the fun.  We always made friends in line (as long as they were not there for the same items we were of course…)  and waited until they finally opened the doors and then everyone tried to get that one limited supply, coveted deal they had waited in the cold for.  
When we used to go, stores opened no earlier than 6am, and then it became 5am for a few years….then 4am (still doable but early)…..then it was midnight on Thanksgiving night. When that happened, I was mad, but then I decided it wasn’t so bad.  You do not have to wake up early, you can get your post-turkey nap and head out after your family has gone to bed.  Then you are still getting your quality family time and potentially, your Black Friday deals.   Then about two years ago, stores started opening even earlier on Thanksgiving evening.  That is where I drew the line for many reasons.  There are a lot of good deals and savings out there, but come on!  Do not sacrifice family time for a discount! (and that is me saying this…and I am all about a bargain) 
Now this post is called Frugal Friday and so far, it sounds like I am telling you not to take advantage of Black Friday deals…wrong!  You can get some deals without even leaving your couch!  Most of the deals you can purchase online!  I know many of you have probably heard about bfads.net, but if you haven’t check them out!  They have Black Friday ads for all stores uploaded on their site as they are released.  They are a one stop shop to pre-shop the sales.  They also have a list of deals that are happening all week.   That’s right! You do not have to wait until Friday, a lot of sales have already started!  For example, Amazon has a year subscription of Prime for $79 today only (11/18) when it is normally $99.  There are all kinds of deals, you just have to be willing to do your research and decide what you want to go after.    There are some stores like Sephora for example that will have deals for only app users so if that is your thing, download the app and be on the lookout!  (Sidenote: if you are after items from Sephora or Ulta, my biggest piece of advice is to order it online because they always throw in some pretty good free samples.)  Say you love going out in the crowd (I know people like that), bfads.net already has the store maps uploaded for Target and Walmart so you know exactly where to go when you get  there.  Another tidbit about Target especially, there are a lot of items that they cannot necessarily discount, but they give gift cards with purchase so that is another way to save!  This website has it all, but it is also overwhelming because there are so many different ways to shop now.  But just be patient and take time to plan it out and do not sacrifice time with your family, because there are a lot of ways to snag deals without leaving your house Thursday.  I hope this helps anyone who is a Black Friday newbie!

So you want that Black Friday deal for a Christmas gift but want to stay home Thursday? “It’s Fine!”  You can snag your deals and discounts without even leaving the house through online shopping and shopping early! Until next time…

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