Have a plan of attack

With Black Friday quickly approaching. Newbies and Veterans alike need to have a plan. Fortune favors those who plan ahead. My first Black Friday experience, I showed up at the store at like 9 AM... early for me, but late for all the good deals. First year I worked at Best Buy for Black Friday, my family showed up an hour before opening...... and were near the end of the line. Unfortunately those years, I didn't know what to expect, and I didn't know what to plan for. But now that I have a couple Black Fridays under my belt, I go with a plan every year.

1) Check out the ads weeks in advance. The local newspaper on Thanksgiving day will be super stuffed with all the Black Friday ads. Knowing the ads lets you be prepared on where to go. But why only be prepared 1 day in advance? There is this thing called "the Internet" and it might be huge one day! By searching Black Friday ads, you can get a 2 week head start on your opponents. Most years, ads were "leaked." (Stolen ads to be scanned and released to the public.) But this year, most retailers have put their ads online. I guess having people know what was on sale is good for business.

2) Know what you want to buy. Whether it be a new laptop, the hottest toys, or a new wardrobe, you need to know where to go. Can you make it a one stop shop by going to Walmart? Or will you have to start at Toys 'R Us at 9, hit up Best Buy at midnight, and JC Penny at 4? Build yourself a small road map of things you want to buy.

3) The More the Merrier. Black Friday shopping is hard enough. Let alone hard enough to do by yourself! That's what friends and family are for! With most retailers opening at roughly the same time, it's hard to be at two places at once. If you make shopping lists of things you would like to purchase. Then your friends and family can split off into groups and hit up different places. Get more shopping done.

4) Be prepared to wait. Lines, lines and more lines. (Ironically, that's my strategy for picking up girls at a bar.) But there will be plenty of lines this Black Friday. People start lining up outside stores AT LEAST 2 hours before opening. And with retailers opening earlier this year, that is most likely going to cut into your Thanksgiving time. That is not the ONLY line you have to worry about. Even with all the check stands open, checking out takes a good long minute as well. And then the line to get out. Traffic is a b*tch. So drive safe. (Before heading out for Black Friday, be sure to have a fully charged smart phone or tablet device. Makes the waiting much easier)

So have a plan kiddies. Sometimes spontaneity is fun....in this case, I'd rather be a boy scout.

The changes to Black Friday?

Black Friday this year looks a little different than most years. Traditionally most stores release their "Doorbuster" deals around 6 am. Doorbusters are generally the best deals in electronics (laptops, tvs, etc.), toys, clothes, almost anything. They're usually the best deals, and doorbusters are the ones that black friday shoppers will be out waiting in line for.

That's why us Black Friday shoppers wait in line. Not only because it's huge savings, but it's kind of cool. An adrenaline rush to do something you don't get to do every day. It's a little fun for us nuts out there.

This year, retailers are trying to one up each other. Apparently 6 AM is NOT early enough for us to buy our toys. Generally speaking most stores opened their doors from 4-6 AM. BUT THIS YEAR... most retailers are opening at Midnight this year. Some places even at 10 PM on Thanksgiving. Can't let your competitors get the best of your right?

Although this is kind of a huge change, they've prepared us last year. Toys 'R Us started their sale at 10 last year. Walmart released their sale at Midnight and the rest of their electronics at 6 AM (Made the lines moves MUCH MUCH Faster, bravo Wally World). So what does that mean for us shoppers? Well, we might have to line up, a little earlier...but I doubt it will be by much. It will cut out how many hours we will have to wait outside though. Unless you shop at Wal Mart, then you get to wait inside.

I don't think we'll have to wait in line earlier than we usually do. For Black Friday shoppers we generally start lining up around 7 or 8 anyway. Opening the doors earlier isn't going to make many of us line up too much earlier. We still have Thanksgiving dinner to eat! On the bright side most places you have to wait outside, so opening the doors earlier, means less waiting in line. And in 30 degree weather? That's going to be nice.

There is a down side though. As I said before, last year, when Wal Mart split the electronics and other items up, it effectively REDUCED the customers checking out. So check out times were halved. Walmart is splitting again at 10 and Midnight...still going to have longer check out times. Secondly? With the EARLIER times means MORE customers will be willing to come out. Sigh.... for the "Black Friday Nuts"...we don't like that.

So if you ever wonder why anyone braves the early morning hours, cold weather, and crowds? It's not just because of the good deals......it's because that little crazy person inside of us kind of lives for it. And hey, it's only one day a year.

Black Fridddaaaayyyyy!

Well Well Well... we are LESS THAN 2 weeks away from one of my favorite days of the year. The day AFTER Thanksgiving. Otherwise known as Black Friday! The opening of the holiday shopping season. Why do I love it so much? Let's analyze that shall we? I'm a Tran. My parents, I wouldn't call them cheap, but they do love their money. As they should, I mean, they work hard for it. But the parents did pass down the gene to me. If you can not pay full price for something, then somehow I have done good.

This trait was further emphasized when I met a couple good friends of mine. The Boltons. Seriously, if I could sit down with these two for an hour and talk about the money we saved on items that we've purchased, then man, it was an hour well spent.

I'm frugal, what can I say? There is just something about a deal that just gets me off. Seriously, sales and deals? F**K my S**T up! (Yes, Like the Muppets do). I am proud to say that I have a plan for the Twenty Eleven Black Friday already. And I plan on blogging about it until the day comes. We have lots to talk about! New Hours, New Items, New PLACES! I'm so excited I just cannot hide it! But if you have any questions or Black Friday topics you want me to blog about, just go ahead and ask. Seriously, ask, I live for this stuff!

PS For those who know me, and know that I use www.swagbucks.com/refer/pongalonger then you know that I've been saving up Amazon.com gift cards that I've earned from the site. I haven't done a hard count.....but I estimate that I have approximately 850 dollars in gift cards this year to spend on Christmas!!!!! Whoo Hoo!!!