(BPT) – If your individual shopping trips are sprints, then Black Friday is your marathon — an action-packed, intense early morning hunt that’s not for the faint of heart. And you love every minute of it. From that first warm cup of coffee while camping out with family and friends to finding amazing deals, Black Friday is a holiday in and of itself. The tips included below will help you make this year’s Black Friday your best yet.
* Prioritize your trip. Not all Black Friday deals are created equal, and establishing a priorities list will stop you from spending too much time at a less-than-ideal store that risks you missing out on a must-have item. Whether you prioritize a store that has several things you want or the store that has the one item you want most is up to you. Come to a consensus with your group and map out the shortest path to each store on your list.
* Look for the best big-ticket items. Black Friday is all about the deals, and those deals are even sweeter when you purchase the best bang-for-your-buck big-ticket items. For example, this year LG will be marking down prices on their entire 2018 LG OLED AI TV lineup, allowing you to save big while bringing a luxury TV into your home. LG’s OLED technology delivers stunning picture quality, providing perfect blacks coupled with rich, accurate colors for a picture that looks amazing from virtually any viewing angle, making it the perfect TV for any sports or movie enthusiast. Plus, with Google Assistant built right in and compatibility with Amazon Alexa, you can control the television with your voice.
* Get an app. There’s an app for everything these days, and that’s certainly true of Black Friday. You may already have apps for your favorite stores, but there are Black Friday-specific apps as well. Some catalog the deals and record your reward points. Others show you a list of the best deals based on where you live. Research your options and add the app that makes sense for you.
* Make use of your credit card’s reward program — if you have one. If you’re going to purchase Black Friday deals anyway, it pays to do so with a credit card that pays you back. Utilize applicable cards whenever possible at a retailer and you’ll enjoy an instant return on your investment.
* Have a plan for what you buy. Sometimes when you’re Black Friday shopping, it can become too easy to focus on the deal instead of what you need the item for. While a new television, for example, has immediate obvious value for your home life, the worth of other items might not be as apparent. Before making a purchase, have a plan for the item in question. Will you use it? Is it a gift? If you have no specific plan and were tempted to buy it just because of the deal, let it go. It’s the best way to ensure that you don’t waste any of your money.
Black Friday will be here before you know it, so don’t pass up this valuable planning time. Use the tips above to coordinate your plan with your friends and family and you’ll coast through this year’s Black Friday with ease.