Looking to snag some deals this Black Friday? We don’t blame you! Black Friday is easily the biggest shopping day of the year and if you’re strategic in your approach, you can score some huge savings.
Below, we’ll share our best Black Friday shopping tips to help you:
- Spot good deals (and avoid bad ones)
- Stack extra savings on top of the discounts
- Secure the best deals before they sell out
- and much more!
But first:
When Is Black Friday in 2021?
Black Friday falls on November 26th this year. However, due to COVID, potential shipping delays, and supply chain issues, many retailers are starting their Black Friday sales early.
For example, Best Buy’s Black Friday sales have already begun. They’re even offering a price guarantee, meaning if you purchase one of their Black Friday deals early and the price drops further on or before November 26th, they’ll refund you the difference. A few other retailers (including Target and Walmart) have similar offers in place.
This is a good sign that you should start preparing your shopping list and scoping out your favorite deals now rather than later. Since sales have already started and some products could be in limited quantity this year (especially ones that have been heavily affected by supply chain issues like computers and gaming consoles), the sooner you get started, the better chance you have of actually getting your hands on the best deals.
Is Black Friday Worth It?
Yes, but only if you’re saving money on something you actually need. Buying something you don’t need just because it’s on sale is a waste of money no matter how good the deal is.
You have to be careful too. Not all Black Friday deals are as good as they may seem. For example, some retailers will slowly raise their prices leading up to Black Friday and then they’ll drop them back down to their fair value on the day. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to spot this as long as you do your research. Our Black Friday tips below will show you how.
The bottom line is, if you have something you’ve been wanting to purchase for a long time and you’ve saved up the money in order to get it, it’s definitely worth keeping your eye out for a deal on Black Friday. This is also a great opportunity to get your Christmas shopping done early — and at a discount!
Pre-Black Friday Tips for Finding the Best Deals
Securing deals on Black Friday isn’t rocket science, but preparation is definitely key. Here’s how to get ready for the big day (or month in the case of 2021):
1. Make a Shopping List
The best thing you can do before scoping out any Black Friday deals is to simply write down everything you can think of that you may need. Is your toaster on its last legs? Laptop struggling to manage your endless browser tabs? Old knife set not quite cutting it anymore?
Whatever it may be, write it down on a piece of paper or enter it into a spreadsheet. And don’t forget to include gift ideas too!
Once you have the first draft of your Black Friday shopping list finished, it’s time to give it a second run-through. Because let’s be honest, you probably don’t need every single thing you’ve written down. For the best results, try to prune your list to the point where you’d be content buying the items at full price. If you follow this simple rule, there’s almost no way you’ll have any buyer’s remorse later on.
2. Create a Budget
Another great way to make sure the products on your Black Friday shopping list are things you truly need is to set a budget. By giving yourself a spending limit, you’ll force yourself to think more critically about what you’re buying. You’ll also keep yourself out of costly debt.
Tip: When coming up with your Black Friday budget amount, be sure to take into consideration your other savings and investment goals. While it may seem like a good idea in the short term, you don’t want to take away from your retirement fund just to get your hands on a new PS5! (If you don’t currently have any savings or investment goals, check out our full guide to creating a budget.)
Once you have a budget number in mind, write it down on your Black Friday shopping list/spreadsheet so you can easily reference it later on.
3. Research Your Products
Whether or not you have a specific brand or model in mind for the products on your Black Friday shopping list, it’s a good idea to do some additional research before fully settling on anything.
You should, at the least:
- Check customer reviews. Make sure the product you’re planning to buy isn’t riddled with issues. If there are problems with the current model, maybe wait a bit until a newer more improved model comes out, or find an alternative.
- Compare similar products. If there are a few good options for the type of product you’re looking for (e.g. an air fryer), note down your favorites and check back on Black Friday to see which one has the best deal available.
After you’ve done this with each of the products on your list, you’re ready to do some price research!
4. Analyze Pre-Black Friday Prices
Depending on how many items are on your list, this could take some time, but it’ll be worth it in the end. The process is very simple too.
Starting from the first item on your list, check out the current prices across multiple retailers (e.g. Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Kohls, Home Depot, etc.) and write down the average. You can use Google Shopping to do this quite easily.
Next, write down the price you’re hoping to pay on Black Friday for each of the items on your list.
By doing these things, you’re familiarizing yourself with current prices (which will help you avoid bad deals), and you’re also solidifying beforehand what you believe is a good deal or not. If Black Friday comes around and something doesn’t meet your desired price, take that as a sign to pass on the purchase for now.
5. Setup Price Alerts
Now that you’ve got an idea of the current prices of the items on your Black Friday shopping list, it’s time to set up price alerts so you don’t miss any upcoming deals. There are a variety of online tools available to help you with this.
Here are a few of my favorites:
- CamelCamelCamel – This website is amazing for tracking price history and price drops on Amazon products. Just select your country and search for a product and CamelCamelCamel will show you the price history and let you set up a custom price alert. When the price of the item drops, CamelCamelCamel will send you an email. (I used this tool recently to save around 30% on the purchase of a new computer mouse!)
- Google Alerts – If the product you’re looking for isn’t on Amazon or you want to be savvy and track prices from multiple retailers (good idea!), you can use Google Alerts to set up custom price trackers for any product you can think of. Here’s a tutorial.
- Honey Extension – This tool offers coupon codes at checkout, price history across multiple stores, and it’ll alert you when you find a good deal.
Since many retailers are starting up their Black Friday deals early, try to get these set up as soon as possible.
6. Check the Black Friday Ad Scans
If you have a feeling that you’re forgetting something (or you need some additional gift ideas for those hard-to-buy-for folks), that’s when the Black Friday ad scans come in handy. Stores typically release them in November to show off all of their best offers, so they’re perfect for finding gift ideas and additional deals that you might want to get your hands on.
That said, don’t get suckered into buying something unnecessary just because of a nice advertisement!
For convenience, you can find the ad scans for almost any store on this website. After you find a few ideas, be sure to follow the same steps above of researching them, checking price histories, and setting up price alerts if necessary.
7. Follow Retailers on Social Media
Since Black Friday deals are constantly being updated and added throughout November, you may not find the exact thing you’re looking for by checking ad scans. That’s when social media comes in handy. If you have a few favorite stores you like to shop at, follow them on Facebook/Twitter/etc. and/or subscribe to their email newsletter if they have one. That way, you’ll hear about the newest deals as soon as they’re announced.
This can be a really good strategy for smaller stores; they typically don’t get as much coverage on Black Friday as the big box retailers. (Speaking of, be sure to stay alert for Small Business Saturday on November 27th if you want to support your local mom-and-pop shops!)
Tip: Create a separate social media account/email inbox for your Black Friday deal hunting. That way, once Black Friday is over you won’t have to worry about your main feeds being filled with tempting product advertisements.
8. Get Familiar with Store Policies
One last thing to do before you start buying up any Black Friday deals is to familiarize yourself with store policies.
Here’s what you should look into:
- Returns. This is probably the most important thing to look into before making any purchases. Return policies can change during events like Black Friday, so be sure to double-check before buying. If you’re purchasing gifts, opt for a gift receipt as well!
- Price guarantees. As mentioned above, a few retailers including Best Buy, Walmart, and Target are running price guarantee policies for Black Friday. That means if you purchase an item and the price drops within a certain date range, you can get refunded the difference. However, there are some catches to these programs, so be sure to read the policies carefully for the stores you’re planning to shop at. As an example, you’ll need to create a free My Best Buy account in order to receive automatic price guarantee refunds.
- Price-matching. You’ll also want to look into price-matching policies to see if the retailer you’re shopping at will match other retailers’ Black Friday deal prices. This could save you from having to go store-to-store in some cases. For more details, check out this article from CNET.
- Shipping. Most stores these days require you to spend a certain amount in order to receive free shipping. If they don’t offer an alternative (e.g. free curbside pickup) for purchases that don’t meet the threshold, try to pool your purchases together with a friend, or shop somewhere else.
- Loyalty programs. If a store you’re planning to shop at has a loyalty program that you’re not yet signed up for, sign up now! You may get access to special prices, and you’ll most likely earn points from your purchases that can be used for future discounts.
Black Friday Shopping Tips to Maximize Your Savings
OK, your shopping list is prepared, you’ve done your research, and you’re ready to start spending. Follow these Black Friday shopping tips to maximize your savings:
9. Use a Credit Card
This is the easiest way to boost your Black Friday savings. All you need to do is make your purchases using a rewards credit card. This could save you an easy 1-2% on all your Black Friday purchases.
The only catch to this is that, in order to benefit, you need to pay your credit card bill off in full at the end of the month. Otherwise, the interest costs will eat up your savings.
10. Shop With Discount Gift Cards
If credit cards aren’t your thing, discount gift cards are another worthy option to consider. You can typically find gift cards for 1-10%+ cheaper than their retail value, resulting in instant savings that you can stack on top of Black Friday discounts. However, for this to work, you need to be sure of where you’re planning to shop beforehand. Otherwise, you might end up buying a gift card that you don’t actually need.
This is why preparing your shopping list in advance is so important.
Once you’re sure of where you’ll be shopping on Black Friday, you can browse for discount gift cards on these marketplaces:
- Raise – Raise is one of the most popular gift card marketplaces. It’s super easy and safe to use and has cards from hundreds of retailers.
- Reddit Gift Card Exchange – This is a peer-to-peer exchange so you have to be a bit more careful of scammers, but there are some good deals to be had. Just make sure you’re trading with reputable users. (I just recently traded $121 PayPal cash for $150 in Amazon gift cards here, which works out to around 20% savings for me.)
- Facebook Marketplace – This is another one where you’ll need to be careful of scammers. If you buy a physical gift card, make sure you can check the balance before handing over your cash.
Good gift card deals can be tricky to come by around the holiday season, but if you can find one, it can result in some big (and easy) savings.
11. Use Cashback Programs
Whether you’re using a credit card or a gift card, making your purchases through a cashback portal when possible is another easy way to stack more savings on Black Friday.
If you’re shopping online, try Rakuten. It’s a free cashback site and browser plugin that offers deals across hundreds of different stores. It’s super easy to use, too. When you’re ready to make a purchase, just log into your Rakuten account, access your desired store through the site or app, make the purchase, and you’ll typically receive your cashback within a few days.
For in-store shoppers, try downloading and setting up apps like Ibotta, Drop, Dosh, or Shopkick before you head out on Black Friday. Each of these apps offers in-store cashback via linked card purchases or receipt scans, and sometimes you can earn without even making a purchase!
12. Stick to Your List
It’s easy to get caught up in the deal-hunting spirit of Black Friday to the point where we start buying things just because they’re on sale. Stores even anticipate this. They’ll use every psychological trick in the book to try and persuade you into buying things you don’t really need.
Stay strong!
Once you’ve gone through the Black Friday tips above and come up with a solid shopping list, stick to it at all costs. Otherwise, there’s a good chance you’ll end up with a regretful, unused impulse purchase sitting in your garage, taunting you for the rest of the year.
13. Shop With a Frugal Buddy
Speaking of impulse purchases, if you know that there’s a good chance you’ll purchase something you don’t really need on Black Friday, bring a friend, family member, or significant other along to shop with you. Just make sure they’re thrifty and willing to steer you away from bad decisions!
Even if you’re not worried about veering off your shopping list, consider bringing a pal along anyway. They’ll keep you company and help you get in and out of stores a lot more quickly.
14. Be Willing to Walk Away
Not every deal you come across on Black Friday will be a hit. If something isn’t at your desired price point, be willing to walk away and wait a bit longer. Even though Black Friday is known for its deals, retailers still hold other sales throughout the year. By using the price tracker tools mentioned above, you’ll know about them before anybody else.
15. Start Preparing for Next Year
Speaking of waiting for other deals, if Black Friday ends up being underwhelming for you this year (or you came a bit underprepared) don’t sweat it! Now that you have some Black Friday tips and tricks in mind, you can start preparing next year’s budget and shopping list in advance.
- For your shopping list, just write down ideas throughout the year. This will save you a ton of time.
- For your budget, we recommend automatically setting aside a fixed amount of money each month. This could be $10/month or $100/month — make it whatever you can afford. For a bit of extra motivation, try a fun money-saving challenge.
Do these two small things and by the time Black Friday rolls around next year, you’ll already be ready to go.
(We hope you found this 2021 Black Friday Shopping Guide helpful. If you did, be sure to share it with your friends and family so they can save some money too!)
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