Finding the Best Deals the Day After Thanksgiving

If You’re Not Careful, Black Friday Might “Gobble” You Up
Many of you will be home with your family for the Thanksgiving break quickly approaching.  And some of you will be preparing for the “shop til’ you drop” experience the day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday.

Why Is It Called Black Friday Anyway?
According to About.com’s coupon/bargain section, “The name was adopted from an accounting term- red ink denotes a negative profit margin, where as “in the black” denotes a positive profit margin”.  Black Friday is typically considered to be the busiest shopping day of the year. 

How Can I Find the Best Deals the Day After Thanksgiving?

1. All of the shopping experts suggest the first step is to “be prepared”.  Ok, we know what you’re thinking, thank you Captain Obvious.  But just incase, here are a few tips the experts suggest:

• Prioritize what you want.  Some deals may be better for you than others.
  
• Write down the item description (this includes model #, price advertised etc)
  
• Try calling the store ahead of time to inquire about the location of the item for Black Friday.  Some stores switch the location of items for the special day.

2. Check out the multitude of ads in your local newspaper.  Or if you choose, surf the web to see all the newspaper ads even if you don’t subscribe.

Here are a few websites to check out:

Black Friday Ads (http://bfads.net/)
Black Friday Info (http://www.blackfriday.info/)
The Black Friday (http://www.theblackfriday.com/)

3. Make sure the prices are actually “deals”. Some stores will “advertise” an ultra low price, when it is actually just a few bucks less than the normal price.

Here are a few websites to check out:

NexTag (www.nextag.com)
PriceGrabber.com (www.pricegrabber.com)
BizRate (www.bizrate.com)

4. Protect Your Identity by Protecting Your Wallet. Theft and identity fraud are common during the busy Holiday shopping season.  According to Identify Theft Resource Center, the number of reports about lost ands stolen wallets peak in November and December.

Here are the last few tips to keep your wallet and your identify safe:

• If you carry you social security card with you normally, don’t!
• Know the contents of your wallet.  Sounds easy, but can you name every item in your wallet now?
• Take what you need: if you have multiple credit cards, only take with you the one you plan on using. 

We hope with these tips you’ll be safe and be able to find the best deals the day after Thanksgiving.

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