Ready or not, here come the holidays, a time for family traditions, glittering decorations and, most importantly, for some, SHOPPING!! If you've decided this Friday is going to be the day... you save tons of money on everything on your wish list, you need a Black Friday Shopping strategy!

A new survey says more than HALF of us plan to start our holiday shopping by Thanksgiving . . . and 80% plan to spend more on Black Friday than they did last year.  One in three people say the most stressful part of Black Friday is the thought of so many people packed into every store, and one in four say it's worrying the store will run out of what they want.

IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY TO DISCUSS.... A "BLACK FRIDAY" SHOPPING STRATEGY
If you want to score the best deals on holiday gifts, here are a few tips to get you ready for the "Black Friday" crowds.
-Set a spending limit. Focus on what you need and what you can afford.
- Do your homework. Check sales fliers online and get the Thanksgiving Day newspaper to see what deals are being offered at what times.
- Let someone else do your homework. Check popular savings sites.
- Score free gift cards. Some stores also offer free gift cards with purchase on popular electronics like iPods and video game consoles.
- Find shopping buddies. If you want to get items at more than one store, try using the "divide and conquer" method.
- Use technology. Sign up for emails and text messages from your favorite retailers so you'll automatically be notified of special offers. blackfriday.com is a cool website I came across which has the latest ads and specials from most of the big chain stores.
- Get rebates. Get cash back for online purchases by using sites like Ebates.com, FatWallet.com and Swagbucks.com.
- Use price matching. For the first time, Target is price matching online competitors Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy and Toys R Us.  Save sales receipts in case you find a better price at a later date.

But wait! There's Small Business Saturday's and you go to the mom and pop smaller business and support the local stores that aren't "Big Box" stores and don't forget Cyber Monday when you go to the e commerce sites and shop online!

What is your Black Friday plan? Tell me in the comments section below....

Here is a video of the Black Friday shopping strategy for some New York City shoppers, courtesy of Business Insider Magazine...

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