Planning & Organizing for Black Friday and other Shopping Trips

For the first of week of our little festival, I'll be focused on planning & preparation. We begin with Christmas shopping. As you all know, Black Friday is this week. There's a big debate over the merits of Black Friday. It is really worth the trip? Can you really save that much? I'd say the answer is yes and no.

I think there was definitely a time when Black Friday was a little more worth your while. Somehow I think the further commercialization of Christmas, the availability of more & more items to choose from, and the fact that the Christmas shopping season has been expanding to where it no longer starts on Black Friday, but instead starts in October, has deminished the appeal and the excitement of Black Friday.

But you can find good deals on Black Friday. If you do your research, get there early, and are willing to stand in line for that door buster deal, you can definitely save money. Unfortunately some of the great deals you see in the paper are for items of which they only have a limited quantity. Other items you find in the sales aren't actually on sale at all; someone just paid to have that item advertised. And some items that are "on sale" you will find, aren't really much cheaper than they would be on any given day.

However, you can find deals. People find them every year. For example, we picked up a vacuum last year, and few years ago I got a great deal on a printer. There are definitely some great deals to be had, you just have to know where to look, and you have to have a plan.

I wrote an article last year on making the most of your Black Friday trip. I published this article on Helium, and it has been ranked number one in the category for the past year. It was even featured on the front page of their website a year ago. The article focuses on strategies that you can use to plan and organize your shopping trip. It lays out a step-by-step process and explains how to look at and sort through the mountain of Black Friday advertisements, how to organize your shopping list and trip, and it also gives you some tips on prioritizing your trip and maneuvering through the chaos at your local stores.

And even if you don't plan on going shopping for Black Friday, the article is worth checking out because the process and strategies can be applied for any shopping day. And since they'll be having Christmas sales throughout the month of December, it should come in handy. Here's the link to the article:

Organizing & Making the Most of Your Black Friday Shopping Trip

Next up, I'll have an article on tips to avoid overspending this holiday season, tips for making your shopping list, and other ideas for Christmas planning.

-Jerri