1. Figure out your budget. How much can you spend? How much do you want to spend per person or family? Set a limit and stick to it. A good tip to avoid more credit card debt is to take out the cash you plan to spend and separate it into different envelopes. When it is gone, it is gone!

2. What do you want or need to get from the sales? Make a list and use it as a guide when you are shopping. It is also good to have substitutions thought out so when an item is no longer available (which it will be) you have a back up plan. Try to make your shopping experience as stress-free as possible.

3. Take a look at all the store flyers and plan. What time do you need to wake up to be in line? Plan to carry just your wallet instead of a purse. It really does help to not carry much as stores often run out of carts and you may end up having to carry your merchandise. Bring a bottle of water or thermos of coffee to keep you going. You will be grateful you did. Shopping is hard work!

4. Compile the ads for the stores you are interested in. A lot of stores will be offering Loss Leaders again.  Fair warning: most of the super great deals will have a very limited supply. For instance, this year Sears is offering a smokn’ deal on a washer a dryer set, but there will only be 4 sets available per store. Keep this in mind when you shop for the great deals and understand the store limits and rules. BTW, Best Buy has a fantastic deal on a washer/dryer set . While the set is a higher price than Sear BF deal, more than likely you will be able to purchase it because there will be more quantities available.

5. Hate the rush and insanity at the stores on Black Friday? Consider shopping online. Amazon and many big box retailers will have fantastic deals online. Consider staying up late on Thanksgiving to take advantage of sales that will be online. What’s a better way to snag some great deals than in your PJ’s and a cup of hot cocoa by the glow of your computer monitor?  ;)

Here is a list of links to stores and Black Friday Websites to help get you started:

Black Friday- The Official 2009 Website

Amazon

Best Buy

CVS

Big Lots

KMart

Kohl’s

Macy’s

Sears

Target

Walgreens

Walmart (You can even get a map of your store to plan out where to go first. Yes, I am serious! And, again, they will match any advertised price during the BF sales.)

If you shop online and want to see if there are any extra discounts available, check out this great website:

RetailMeNot

You can type in what store you would like to find discounts for. If there are codes available you will find them here along with their respective success rates. How great is that?! I have been able to score free shipping and discounts at many stores I shop for online.

As for me, I am probably going to Walgreens as their toys will be 50% off and shop a little at Amazon. I am done shopping except for a few gifts and crowds are not my thang .

Happy Shopping!!

Okay, so it is a week before Thanksgiving and it is time to shop! I want to try and get done with shopping this week to avoid the crowds and depleted items.

One thing to remember is Loss Leaders. These are the items listed on sale in your local grocery ads. Normally they are on the front and back page of the weekly advertisement. They are items that are super discounted to get you in the store to buy other products. So, the key is if you have the time and determination, is to go to all the stores to take advantage of the loss leaders. For instance, Safeway in my town is offering 10# bag of russet potatoes for .97 cents! Fry’s is offering deals on produce and cheese. Plan your list and stops accordingly and you can take advantage of these super great deals.

One hint for you super busy working moms: WalMart and Target price match.You should be able to match the prices from your local grocery stores at the big box stores. Two things to keep in mind: 1. Bring the ads to WalMart and/or Target so you can show the cashier and avoid any extra hassle. 2. Neither store doubles coupons and only takes coupons at face value. Often, people think that the big box stores are cheaper but they are not once you factor in coupons and doubling coupon values. Right now stores are in heavy competition to earn your business and often coupons are doubled, tripled and even quadrupled right now! That is some serious savings!

So, my plan is to go to both WalMart and Fry’s this week to get my items for Thanksgiving dinner and save as much money as I can. They are typically the stores in my town with the best deals anytime of the year. If I were to go to just one store my grocery bill would easily double because I would not be able to take advantage of loss leaders and coupons. It is cheaper in the long run to use more gas in my car and go to both places than it is to shop at one place.

Another thing to remember is turkey prices. Right now stores are going to offer amazing deals but, some, if not most,  have catches. For instance, some stores will offer a turkey at a discounted price per pound or even a free turkey. The key to remember is there is often a minimum amount of money you must spend to get the discount. So, while a turkey at .40 cents a pound or even a free one sounds great, are you going to maximize your savings and keep money in your account if you have to spend $50 or $100 dollars to get the turkey? It is really smart advertising for the stores but often ends up being a poor deal for you. This is also often the case in other periodic grocery sales where you have to spend a certain amount to get the discounted savings.

So far my menu has not changed from my last post, however, I will adjust my menu if something comes available (like wild rice for a yummy stuffing!) or remove something if it is too expensive. I try to remember when I shop that I can be flexible on certain items. And, I also remember there are certain things I cannot budge on (hello, real butter!).