by Anthony Strumlak

Created on: November 18, 2009   Last Updated: November 20, 2009

The time of year that all your shopping needs can be accomplished, black Friday. Everyone loves it and hates it at the same time. I have been shopping on this day for around 5 years now and throughout this time I have learned a lot. To make the most of this day you have to plan out almost every step you wish to make.

On-line is where it all starts, about two weeks before the big day there are tons of sites that offer glimpses of ads even before they come out. The black Friday seems to be proving as the best I have been to so far. This gives you a much longer period of time to start planning for your day if you decide to look at these sites in advance. Do be careful though, I have been to many sites that show the price of a product and have been wrong come the real ads. Though this may happen, the prices usually are close to the real ones and this may prove to be a great start to your research.

Thanksgiving day is when you really should start getting ready. Get up nice and early and make your way to the closest store to grab some coffee and the paper. This is the holy grail of circulars, when you get home sit at your kitchen table and go through each one carefully. Check your favorite stores first and then move to the ones that you rarely shop. Make sure you always do this, because you never know if another store will be selling that certain product your out to get cheaper then your favorite store. After going through all of the ads get a pen and paper and start writing what you want, what store its at, and how cheap it is. This will be your checklist for the day. If you choose that this option is not useful, you can always circle the things you want in the ads and bring them along.

Now comes the fun part, camping out. Yes it sounds crazy but a lot of people do it believe it or not. Most stores open around 5am, I would say to arrive around 6pm-9pm thanksgiving night for places like Best Buy, WalMart, and Toys R Us. Arriving around those times should put you in a decent spot if they give out tickets for the better products, but people do arrive earlier so be careful with your choice. For most other stores arrive a couple hours before they open and you should be fine. If you really want to make the most of the sales this is a big factor in doing so. Waiting till late afternoon will be too late to grab most things, mainly electronics. When the doors open it usually gets crazy, so be safe and shop smart.

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