Black Friday

My husband has shopped Black Friday every year for the past 3 or 4 years. This is the first year that we didn't have some sort of electronic device to get up at the crack of dawn for and stand in line. So, we thought it would be "fun" to just go shopping and look for some good deals with a couple of friends. We had heard the rumor that some stores were opening at midnight and decided to start then and go all night.

I must say that the crowds were overwhelming, the traffic was awful, parking was horrendous and the sales were not that great! I think I have become so accustomed to getting things almost free or free that half-price of $50 is not a good deal to me anymore. From what I saw, most stores didn't have any better deals than a normal sale any other time of the year. I was very disappointed and tired!

The only redeeming part of the night came at about 7 in the morning. I had purchased some items the week before from Michaels and my total was $140. Well, they had some great coupons in the paper for anything purchased between 6 and 10 a.m. So (to the cashier's chagrin), I returned everything I had purchased last week and re-purchased it with my coupons. My total after coupons was only $90!! Now, I know that is not free or close to it but these were all items that don't really go on sale and I needed to complete our remodel. So, saving $50 was a great deal to me.

The other great sale that I was excited about was the CVS 3 day sale. I got lots of stuff for free and made money during the weekend. To see more about the CVS sales, check out this blog.

So, I guess for the future, we only plan to deprive ourselves of sleep if we are looking for something electronic where we can save $100's (one year, we got a lap top for $500 off the normal price - that's a good deal worth no sleep). Next year, I plan to sleep until 6 or 7 and then head out with a friend just to people watch and look for any deals worth my time in line.