Black Friday is just around the corner, and the crazy excitement is getting hard to control. We all love getting our hands on the best Black Friday deals right? For broke high school or college students, it’s their only chance of saving up on a few bucks by buying awesome stuff. Whether you want a new computer or just to improve your gaming system, the discounts are too juicy to ignore.

Even so, I don’t want you to head out shopping without a plan. We all make the old mistake of going to shop without a strategy. I’ve carefully put together a simple 3 step process to help you get the best deals on Black Friday.

1.    Recon Is Important!

Going out shopping on Black Friday without knowing which deals are available is quite dangerous. It’s like enrolling in a university or college without having a look at other schools. Yes, I know that you might get the product you wanted, but you’ll feel quite mad if you missed out on a similar item, but with a better price tag.

So, start by checking out various deals from your retailers’ website. Also, remember to go through review websites to know what other customers think of the product. I had an easy time last year with the help of the Try Mattress blog, and I was able to get an affordable mattress.

You could also check out these websites too:

BlackFriday.com – it allows you to find sales fliers in an alphabetical order. It also has alerts sent directly to your email.

Nerdwallet.com – It improves your search by separating different links into categories, for example, clothing, electronics, and sports among others. Besides, it also offers links to various coupons too!

2.    Have a Plan

Whether you’ve gone Black Friday shopping with your friends or alone, you’ll still need to come up with a suitable plan. First, you’ll have to know when your favorite stores are opening. Luckily, today there’s a website that has all these shops put together for you.

Once you have the list, you’ll know which shops to hit first. If you’re shopping as a team, you’ll give each member a store to ‘attack’. It’s also a good idea to do a dry run by visiting the place a day or two earlier. I’ve discovered that you gain the upper hand if you familiarize yourself with the location.

So, you can pass out itineraries to each team member. Remember to include the names of the shop, items targeted, hours, and the quality you need. Lastly, with the growth of technology, it’s wise to have all the members update the address into their phone’s GPS.

3.    Things You’ll Need to Have

If you decide to head out shopping, it’s essential to put some factors into consideration. Let us look at some of these issues:

• Coupons – Go online and get the ones you find useful for Black Friday. However, I found it’s easier to download a coupon app like Shopular. Either way, you’ll get incredible bargains!
• Fuel – Ensure that your gas tank is full and also keep some healthy-energy snacks to help you’ survive’ through the day.
• Money – Of course you’ll need cash when going shopping. However, remember to keep it in your purse or wallet. Thieves are also out shopping!

With the above tips, you should quickly take on the massive crowds on Black Friday. You can even avoid them by choosing to shop online. Most of the deals in stores can also be found once you go online shopping. This means that you can keep buying until dawn while still enjoying quality time with your family. With that said, I hope you have a crazy, fantastic shopping experience!

I’d like to say thank you to James for an excellent article!