Maximize Your Savings on Black Friday!

With Black Friday advertisements coming out now, I thought I should give some advice regarding the shoppers holiday that could save you time, money, and stress.  At the end of the article I will also post retailers links where you can find their Black Friday advertisements as soon as they are released. I will also post links to the applications that save me the most money. I downloaded them to my chrome search bar, and most will display the percentage of savings on the screen for you as soon as you arrive on a retailers site, so you can choose the savings that is right for you. So you will have easy access to those money saving links at the end of this post.

I love Black Friday. This is usually the time when I finish my Christmas shopping. I do try to take advantage of special deals year round, so that Christmas expenses don’t hit too hard all at once.  I view the advertisements, review whom I have left to buy for, and compile a list. If I know I will be spending more than $50 at any retailer, I will link through my swagbucks account to purchase a gift card for that vendor. Amazon and eBay cards are usually available as well, if you are not sure of where to find a particular item. Once I select my gift cards, I choose the email option, because most (if not all) of my black Friday shopping will be done online, and I get the card much faster. This also gives me around $5.00 worth of swagbucks in my swagbucks account depending on the retailer.  When compiling my list I try to include which vendors are carrying the special, what the pricing is, and whom the gift is for. This way if the item is sold out at one store, I know where to check next. Last year there was only one item I could not get on Black Friday, whereas the year before I think half of my items were already sold out. So this method helped a ton.   

I then access my iBotta app. and clip cash back coupons for the items I plan to buy. This way if I follow through with those purchases I will get money back. I just need to scan in my receipt or link my rewards card. Most retailers start their special deals on Thanksgiving now.  Last year I set my alarm for 2 hours earlier. I linked through my swagbucks account (because you get points whenever you make a purchase…sometimes up to 10 points per dollar spent) or Rakuten account depending on what percentage I’ll get back. Then once I am at my retailers site I search only for what I have on my list. Impulse buying is easy when everything is at such steep discounts, but you don’t want to be spending the rest of the day with buyer’s remorse. Once I have found everything on my list, I will view my cart. So if I have $3.00 to go to get $10 rewards money, or to get free shipping vs the $14 on my cart summary, I will go back and buy something to make up for the difference.  A candle, Christmas ornament, decorative hand towels, and picture frames make wonderful neighbor and co-worker gifts, so I will usually look for one of those items (and essentially that item saves me money).

I repeat this process for each retailer I have on my list, and by the time I am done, I don’t have to venture out into the crowded stores, my shopping is finished, and I have just one more thing to be thankful for. I can spend the rest of my holiday thinking only about the important people in my life.

So enjoy the day, both shopping and spending much needed time with your family and/or friends!

Black Friday Advertisement Links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/events/earlyblackfriday?&linkCode=ll2&tag=simplifyand0b-20&linkId=ded7af51a79bc909e51ea28fa9536421&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/cp/black-friday/1076614

Kohl’s: http://kohls.shoplocal.com/kohls/BrowseByPage?PromotionCode=Kohls-171120PV&storeid=2396320#

JCPenny: https://www.jcpenney.com/blackfridaydeals

Target: https://weeklyad.target.com/promotions?code=Target-20171107&lnk=Wejustcouldntwa&page=1

Sears:

https://www.sears.com/deals/black-friday-deals.html

Macy’s

https://www.macys.com/p/black-friday/

If you don’t already have these money saving apps, you can sign up with these links:

Swagbucks link: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/aprilorr

iBotta link: https://ibotta.com/r/hbaqcjm 

Rakuten link: https://www.rakuten.com/r/SIMPLI635?eeid=43662&utm_source=extension&utm_medium=raf_link

If you liked these tips and tricks, check out these other posts:

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