Black Friday Ads

They're out! Well, they're starting to come out anyways. Can you believe it? Halloween isn't even here yet. I just finished with fall decorating! I haven't even put away all the shorts yet!

Christmas is about 10 weeks away. I say "about" since I don't know when you're reading this. 10 weeks. That's it! It's time to start planning. Shopping. Saving.

Yes, saving. If you don't start now, you'll never catch up on those bills. We put aside a little every month for Christmas gifts just so it doesn't hurt us as much when the time comes. We also plan out our prescription refills to coincide for that extra 5% off at Target coupon. Combine that with the 5% off from using RedCard, Black Friday deals, free shipping to avoid the crowds, coupons, and now Cartwheel, I think we do pretty good. We definitely try to get a big bang for our buck, and try not to overbuy. And most of the shopping is done by Cyber Monday. Allows us to enjoy the holidays a bit more. And get everything wrapped, since I'm the family gift wrapper.

(A bin of discounted leftover Halloween costumes.. dress-up clothes. Still a hit!)

What? You don't do Black Friday shopping? Or you do, but you stand in line for days in advance? You're doing it wrong. If you enjoy it, go right ahead. I used to, too. But I have a distinct dislike for people in crowded places. And our babysitters (grandparents) like to shop that day, too, so the hours are shortened. Can't shop with the kiddos.

If you want to know about the deals ahead of time so you can plan out what's worth waiting for and what's an actual good deal, make sure you sign up for the flyers! They've already posted Macy's doorbuster deals, and there's a pair of boots I'm lusting after. I haven't decided yet if it's worth the crowd, though.

Make sure you sign up here (in case the link doesn't work: http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/) to be notified of the deals. They send you deals year-round, too. Not just Black Friday. They even sell t-shirts if you want to be truly hardcore.

The deals are quite exciting for me. We even got our Christmas tree last year for $19! An 8 foot live tree. It was the best find, yet!

(And all decorations are either homemade or after Christmas sales.)

So start planning! Halloween should be done and ready to be enjoyed by now!