Thanksgiving is upon us, which means you probably have a whole lot of shopping on your mind. This time of the year can be pretty rough on the budget, especially if you plan on enjoying all of the sales that hit on the day after Thanksgiving and the following Monday. Of course, there are a few ways you can avoid over spending or falling for deals that simply aren’t worth the time of day. With these ten tips, you should be able to figure out where you stand on these fast-paced holiday shopping events. Now, you can kick back and relax while making your game plan, thanks to your new shopping know-how that won’t leave you hurting the day after your shopping spree.

1. Make a List
One of the wisest moves you can make during this holiday season is to make a list and, yes, check it twice. If you have to, write down all of the people you plan to shop for and specific gift ideas that you’d like to get them. You can also do this list for household items you know you need. This will help you keep your eye on the prize when you actually make it into a store. You may want to make a rule for yourself that prevents you from straying from the list too. If you can hold on to the list while shopping it may help you from straying and buying items that you know you don’t need. Impulse shopping will be a lot easier to avoid too, since you already know what you’re looking for and you’ll be less likely to walk around aisles you don’t need to shop in. The list will also help you keep track of spending and who you still need to shop for so you’ll be ready for the second big day of shopping.

2. Know Your Sales
It doesn’t matter if you plan to attack the sales on foot or with your keyboard, one of the best ways to maximize your savings is to understand all of the sales that are happening. A few weeks prior to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you may want to start snooping around for hints at sales. Usually, social media pages will have lots of clues or outright advertisements letting you know what you can save on via the store. Joining newsletters is also a great idea if you want the insider scoop for each of your favorite stores. Of course, you should also tackle sales ads and hold on to ads you like so that you can plan around them. Simply knowing what you can buy where will help you get to the sale in time to enjoy the savings. It will also allow you a quick and painless way to compare prices without having to miss out on some of the best deals of the day.

3. Budget Well
It’s incredibly important to triple check your budget before you go shopping. You don’t want to over extend yourself during this season, especially with a big holiday feast already on your weekly grocery bill. Rather, make sure your budget is a healthy range, so you don’t have stress over bills or stretching food for the next few weeks. If you’re going Black Friday shopping then you might want to consider taking cash with you, unless you have card rewards. This will stop you from overspending because you won’t have any way to pay if you go over the budget. Cyber Monday will require you to use a bit of discipline though as the only option you have for shopping is via credit or debit card. However, simply knowing your budget will make you self-consciously shop frugally and will help you keep your eye on items you actually planned on buying, rather than flash deals you never even imagined you’d purchase.

4. Know When To Buy
Knowing is half the battle when it comes to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Each day has a wide selection of deals, but specific days cater to specific items. So, by knowing what to buy when, you can actually avoid the item on the day you know isn’t going to provide you with the best deal. For starters, if you have your eye on a new TV or laptop then you have two options to consider. If you’re fond of brand name items then you may want to hold out for Cyber Monday as they offer more deals on popular brands than Black Friday. On the other hand, if brand name doesn’t mean anything to you then Black Friday has some exceptional deals on non-brand TVs and laptops. If clothes are on your agenda then Black Friday is the place to be. You can find all of the best fashions on sale and, since you’ll be shopping in stores, you will have the chance to try on the items so you won’t have to make returns. If home appliances are what you need then Cyber Monday will bring the deals to you. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for large or small appliances, shopping online will get them to you for a lot less. Of course, if toys are your big deal then the deals are pretty much so-so on both days. You may want to hold out until 2 weeks prior to Christmas when toys take a price decrease. However, if you’re worried you’ll miss out on the “it” toy then go with your gut feeling.

5. Gather Coupons
Most stores will still accept coupons on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, so don’t forget them when you go shopping. When it comes to couponing during these dates, you may want to look a few weeks prior to the big event. Of course, you should always pay attention to rules, restrictions and expiration dates so you can make the task a lot easier for the poor cashier that has to check you out during such a huge rush. One of the best places to look for coupons is manufacturer’s websites as these coupons often provide you with some pretty hefty discounts that can stack with the sale. You should also look online for special discount codes that are sure to cut down your price even more. If you’re military or are eligible for other discounts call up the store to see if there’s a special code you can use to get your discount. This will help you save even more without having to go to great lengths.

6. Be Leery of Websites
One of the big problems with shopping online is there are many stores that don’t offer secure purchasing and some that are flat out looking to rip people off. So, when you’re looking for deals on Cyber Monday, try to be as cautious as possibly. Generally, if there is a deal that is too good to be true then chances are it probably is. This is especially the case if you’re looking at a site you don’t recognize or that you’ve never heard of. Before you buy from a new shop, make sure to use the internet to research it. There’s a lot of websites that will offer reviews of various online stores, so make sure to poke around a lot of these sites. Generally, if a website is a scam it will pop up in your search engine right away, as there is a strong community of shoppers that want to prevent such an action from occurring to other shoppers. There’s also a few key things you should look for when it comes to any website that will help cut down on scams or identity theft.

7. Be Early
Black Friday shopping means setting your alarm clock for an absurd hour in order to make it to the store in time for deals. Generally, you need to be a few hours early if you want to actually get to a sale in time. This is especially true if you live in a larger city as competition for your sale may be a lot more intense. Sadly, being 15 minutes early to a sale simply won’t do it, unless the item is unpopular. So, if you’re looking to save make sure you know how early you need to be. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should ignore your health. Try to get enough sleep before going shopping. You should also eat and stay well hydrated. This will help keep your head in the shopping game, while allowing you to make wiser decisions that won’t cost you an arm and a leg extra.

8. Use Your Rewards Cards
Although it’s not always the wisest to shop on credit cards, you may want to do so if you have a card that offers you a lot of rewards though. Some credit cards will even boost up the points for holiday shopping, which may make spending the extra money on the card worth every penny. Of course, not every card is made equal so make sure you know which cards offer what before you end up spending a lot of money with them. You should also use your store rewards cards. These tend to function differently too, but they will offer you a little more incentive to shop. For instance, some of these cards will take even more money off of the final price of your cart. Other cards will give you points for shopping, so you can redeem them for more money later on.

9. Seek Out Free Shipping
If Cyber Monday is where you plan on doing quite a bit of money, then you might want to look around to see which sites will be hosting free shipping offers during the big event. A lot of stores automatically give you free shipping if you spend over a select amount of money, so you might want to keep this in mind while you’re adding to your shopping cart. Of course, not all websites will extend their generosity to free shipping during the holiday sales. In this case, you might want to look around to see if you can find a free shipping code for the website, which will help your savings flourish. Some sites will offer free shipping as part of their sale, so you won’t have to waste time looking for a way to save on your items purchased on these websites. Other websites, like Amazon, offer free 2-day shipping to their subscribers, which might come in handy if you’re planning on shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

10. Shopping Apps
Some stores like to take shoppers for a ride when it comes to their sales. A lot of shoppers will take the advertised price as good during these sales, but sometimes it isn’t the case. A shopping app can not only help you compare prices in a fraction of a second, but will let you know where you can find the best item. Some of these apps will even allow you to put a hold on an item, which could help you actually get the deal you want without forcing you to run to and fro with no guarantee of a reward. Generally, these apps are free, so you may want to download a few and see which ones suit your shopping style before the big shopping days arrive.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are huge when it comes to saving money on some major sales. However, it’s also easy to get out of hand with your shopping. These simple tricks should help you avoid overdoing it while helping you get the deal of your dreams on the busiest shopping days of the year.