Black Friday Deals & Steals...How Do You Prepare?

How many of you go out in the melee called BLACK FRIDAY? I'm an avid Black Friday participant. It's bad enough I'm a couponer, couple that with Black Friday and i'm like Scrooge McDuck diving into his gold.

I seriously prep for this monumental day. I'm like a drill sergeant instructing marines through boot camp. I'm methodical and tenacious. It doesn't start on Thanksgiving with the daily newspaper. It starts late October, early November when BlackFriday.net starts posting sales ads and sneak peaks of whats to come. The excitement starts to build with each email I get. And, as the date gets closer and I can review the full page leaked ads, I'm nervous and excited like a hooker in church.

Black Friday isn't just a regular day. It's a day to get great prices on  high end products (i.e. TV and blu ray players). However it is not for the faint of heart. You need to be prepared for the large masses of people and extremely long lines. You need a plan of action. Here are 5 tips to tackle Black Friday.

1. Be prepared. Review the sales ads and make your lists. Check doorbusters versus all day sales. See if you can get these items online. Many stores also have the Black Friday prices available online.
2. Have a budget. Make a budget and stick to it. You will need to invoke will power like never before to stop any and all temptation. Especially if you are an impulse buyer. Black Friday can be like the black hole and suck all your money out of you.
3. Take a friend. If you have a friend, take them with you. Having a friend makes it easy to divide and conquer. You can split up the lists and get more items.
4. Dress comfortably. Over here on the east coast, its usually cold. So we're bundled up pretty good to withstand standing outside. That becomes a pain in the ass once your in the store sweating like a pig in sh*t. Wear comfortable shoes that can be worn for hours without hurting your feet. Wear clothes that can accommodate cold temperatures and in-store temps. You'll thank me later.
5. Relax and Enjoy the experience. Shopping on Black Friday can be overwhelming. Enjoy the adrenaline rush and know that at the end of the day you've probably finished your Christmas shopping in one day.



Are you going to do Black Friday shopping? Have you ever done Black Friday shopping before? When do you do your Christmas Shopping? Do you think Black Friday shoppers are nuts? Share your thoughts I'd like to know.


image credit: http://www.cartoonaday.com 

Extreme Couponing

My name is Allyson and I love to cut, clip and organize coupons.


I am not an extreme couponer, those folks are hoarders. But I do stockpile and I never buy anything without a coupon. I've been clipping coupons since college, but in the past 3 years I became serious.


Exhibit A, my coupon binder
A 3 inch binder that houses 36 different product categories. From household goods to groceries.

My coupon categories are separated by dividers.  It may look overwhelming, but its quite organized and easy to locate specific coupons when needed.

And for the big kahuna....my coupons. This is like my own personal a pot of gold. This is money in the bank,  non-currency form of course. I keep them organized using baseball card holders.

People always ask me if I carry this big binder to the stores when I shop. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. It all depends on the amount of prep work I did. I'll start talking about my coupon adventures in future posts. This is just me coming out *giggles* #nohomo.


Do you coupon? Have you used coupons before? Are you interested in learning how to coupon?

Back for the first time

I'm back snitches!!!!Yeah, I posted a few times and I was gone. At the time I wasn't sure what I wanted to talk about. I have a few new ideas, a new perspective and I'm ready to try this again.

WELCOME TO ALLYWOOD