Black Friday! Such a depressing sounding name for such a happy occasion! I mean, it’s a shopping day, right- and what’s happier than shopping? I know, it’s not about the mood, it’s about stores getting their financial situations out of the red and into the black after doing such great sales volume, but still, I’m sure they could have come up with a more joyous sounding name for this day. Everyone’s excited. From all the hype it almost seems like most of the country has been counting down to Black Friday more than Thanksgiving itself. I read about a guy who set up a camper outside a Best Buy in California. He’s been there since the beginning of the month! Is that a sane thing to do? I say no, but I hope he gets something good because that kind of dedication deserves a reward.

I am not one to turn down good shopping, and certainly not good sale shopping, but I don’t see myself camping out to be first in line to get into a great sale. I can’t afford the time, for one thing, and I think there are way better ways to score good Black Friday deals and still carry on with your normal life for the month of November. I think you can even enjoy Thanksgiving Day with your family and still take advantage of some great sales.

Here are some ideas that help me keep it manageable:

• Know what you want to buy. Then, look around and see who has the best sales on those things, as well as the most reasonable shopping hours.
• Know what you want to buy. Stay level-headed and focus on what you came shopping for. You’ll avoid spending too much money and dealing with too much clutter at home.
• Have a plan; decide where you want to go first and if you’re shopping with other people it might be a good idea to divide and conquer- everyone gets a different department to cover.
• Know each store’s return policy. Sometimes you change your mind; sometimes what you bought doesn’t really look that great once you get it home; sometimes you just get caught up in the excitement and frenzy of Black Friday and buy things you don’t even want.
• If the store has a good return policy and if you’re buying clothes, take them home to try on. You won’t have to wait on long lines for fitting rooms and you’ll be able to think more clearly away from the madness.
• Bypass the madness entirely and shop online!

I think I like the last option best! No lines, no violence, and I can shop in my pajamas! You can’t beat that, can you?