4 WAYS TO CONQUER BLACK FRIDAY

Black Friday is clearly right around the corner and while it completely blows my mind that it’s already here, I’m also super excited.  Black Friday is where I make magic happen in the Wiginton home.  So let’s get started with my secrets and tips.

1 | WISHLISTS

All year long I’m making lists.  I have a list I add to all year for Christmas gift ideas, needs/wants, and birthdays.  When I see something on Amazon I will simply add it to my wish list.  I may or may not ever get it, but I add it anyways.

When I’m walking down aisles of any store and see something I like or might be a good gift I take a picture of it and when I get home I add it to my wish list.  This also keeps me from emotional spending because adding it my wish list gets rid of shoppers panic.  (You know, that feeling of “if I don’t buy it now I’ll forget” type of thing.)  This is also what I do if I see something on social media.  I don’t have time to get distracted wish shopping so I put it on my list and wait until it’s an appropriate time to do some shopping.  When it’s time for a birthday, Christmas or Black Friday, I have a very nice long list of things I actually want to get instead of depending on what the advertisements show me.  I want to buy what I want and need to buy, not what the stores tell me to buy.

Our family follows this guide when purchasing gifts for our children:
Something you want.
Something you need.
Something to wear.
Something to read.

Coming up with ideas for everyone can sometimes be tricky and this has helped us out a lot.

2 | MOVIES & VIDEO GAMES

This one seems simple, but trust me on this method.  Movies get forgotten, and video games sell out QUICK.  This is my trick to get around going to my shopping cart and finding the game I wanted was sold out.  Because that’s a big time bummer when the price is so good.

Come up with your list NOW.  The more prepared you are, the more you’re apt to never miss out.  How?  Because you won’t spend hours scrolling looking for ideas and by the time you are done and go to your shopping cart, you have items that are now marked “out of stock”.  Being prepared is the way to go!  To help you with movie ideas, I’ve compiled a list of all movies that were released in 2018:

• THE PONY MOVIE
• THE STAR
• COCO
• FERDINAND
• JUSTICE LEAGUE
• JUMANJI
• STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII
• GREATEST SHOWMAN
• PADDINGTON 2
• PETER RABBIT
• BLACK PANTHER
• A WRINKLE IN TIME
• I CAN ONLY IMAGINE
• SHERLOCK GNOMES
• RAMPAGE
• AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
• JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM
• SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY
• HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3
• SKYSCRAPPER
• ANTMAN & THE WASP
• INCREDIBLES 2
• CHRISTOPHER ROBIN
• SMALLFOOT (releasing Dec. 11)

3 | THINGS YOU ALREADY PURCHASE

There are items you already purchase every month.  Supplements, beauty products, food items, health & wellness products, book stores, stores websites where you splurge on things pertaining to your hobbies etc.  These are things you’re already spending money on, so it only makes sense to have a list of all those places ready for Black Friday.

Write out your list and as soon as Black Friday is here go through it and see if what they have on sale would be beneficial to you or not.  Black Friday sales don’t have to be just for Christmas!

4 | BIG ITEMS ABOUT TO BITE THE DUST

This could end up being a really good thing, or a really sad thing.  If you have an appliance that needs replaced, it’s likely you can score an amazing deal for a new one on Black Friday.  The sad thing, is it could be a lot of money to spend right before the holidays.  Not every good sale is a good thing.  But, in this situation, it’s better to replace a big item with a new one that has a hefty sale tag on it.

I hope these tips have been helpful for you.  Black Friday is always an anxious time for me because my goal is to always have my shopping finished in that day so that I can relax and enjoy the holidays without any unnecessary stress.  That’s what it’s all about!  Just be careful!  Just because something is a good deal, does not mean you should buy it.  If something is on sale for $750 from $1000, you didn’t save $250.  You spent $750.

I leave you with my very favorite tip to conquer this shopping season:

Start adding things to your shopping cart now.

Go to the websites you know you’ll be shopping at, grab your wish lists, start adding the items to your shopping cart, and then wait.  Wait for those emails with free shipping or extra coupon codes.  Be prepared and patient and you will do great!  You can also visit the website BlackFriday.com and search items you’re looking for and see where the best deals are!  Happy shopping!

Happy Shopping!  xoxo