As Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, many anticipate Black Friday, the ultimate shopping day to splurge and benefit from discounts. Deals and frenzy fill the stores nationwide, but unfortunately, people fail to plan accordingly and it becomes a day of terror. With the use of simple pre-planning, make this Black Friday the best.

Avid shoppers of Black Friday know the troubles of screaming at other people, running in hysterical crowds, and trying to find the best deals. However, those new to the tradition know that it takes time and planning to beat Black Friday.

“I think that you need to have a strategy going so that you don’t show up and shop around aimlessly. I think it’s nice to know what you’re looking for, to go to the exact store that you need to go to and look for the exact products that you know you want. I’m going to  do my research early this year. I’m excited to go because I’ve always heard about it and I’m excited to get to experience it this year for the first time,” newcomer to the Black Friday madness Jared Burleyson said.

1. Know the best times to shop: Most stores open around three p.m. to six p.m. Thanksgiving night. In this case, one would need to line up as early as possible. For other stores, as the clock strikes midnight, the doors open and madness takes control. The best times to join in on the Black Friday fun, between two a.m. and six a.m., means less crowds and shorter lines since the majority of people shopped the hours before. Around eight a.m., people that missed the deals from the night begin to shop, so beware the early birds.
2. Prioritize necessities: Making a list of items reduces the stress of buying them. This provides an action-oriented plan that will make the trip to the stores easier and help one maintain composure.  Depending on the supplies needed, order a list from most important to least important items. This way, buying a television will make up for the fact if a t-shirt desired does not become bought, and the most desired items stay in one’s possession.
3. The smaller the group the better: Walking around with a pack will increase the likelihood of losing people in the havoc. If a group travels with six to ten people or more, they will crowd the stores. Everyone in the group wants to buy different items, therefore causing a mess within the group to travel to different places. Bring two to four friends to shop on Black Friday to avoid these struggles.
4. Dress for success: Shopping with a handbag, backpack, or any large accessories in general exhausts avid Black Friday shoppers that want to act fast. Pack light, as this will reduce weakness and the chance of theft. Also, when wanting to try on clothes, the less accessories on the body, the quicker the clothing change.
5. Limit use of credit cards; increase use of reward cards: Most people believe that using credit cards seem easier and will speed up the process of buying items. However, the use of credit cards seems smart when only buying expensive electronics, but for everything else using cold cash seems better to decrease the chance of credit card scammers. Also stock up on reward cards before leaving to the stores, as this will help increase reward points.
6. Make the best out of it: Black Friday falls early this year, so use it as an advantage to stock up on Christmas gifts. Do not forget to celebrate the chaos with a good time.

Use these steps as a way to plan accordingly to spend Black Friday right.  

Happy shopping!