Black Friday

My sister's and I are Black Friday Pros. Every Thanksgiving night we plot through the ads and map out our shopping coarse. We set our alarms and hope that we digest all of the turkey we had for dinner. We arrive before the door opens at the best store and wait among the other money spending athletes. Running shoes are laced. Coats are zipped. Caffeine and adrenaline rushing though every vein.

I have provided my TOP 10 ways to do Black Friday shopping.

1. Coupons and Free items come first. Make sure that you are not only getting the best deals, but also getting a killer deal. Example: Getting new towels for $2.20 each from the Black Friday special - then the $10 off coupon is presented - plus an additional 15% off - then getting back the gift card coupons to shop in the future.

2. Using the "line-saver"method. Once the first person is done shopping they stand in line and hold every one's spot. Trick for using this method...You have to talk to the person behind you and warn them. "My friends are on the way- I wonder if they are looking for me on the other side of the store" works wonders. Also, if you get near the front of the line and your shopping partners aren't ready, this is when you let 5-10 people in front of you. This is also called back-butting.

3. Parking by a curb side when the Wal-mart parking lot has no vacancies. It keeps you out of the the line waiting for people to come out of the store to leave and it also provides fast get-a-way time.

4. Having someone dropped off mid-parking lot to find a random cart that someone left after they've unloaded. Caution to the wise: don't attempt to take a cart with someone just standing by it- even if they look uninterested. They have obviously marked that one as their personal property and will defend it until death.

5. Divide and concur. Know what you want before you hit the stores. If there are more people in your group that want the same thing, split into smaller packs and hunt it down. Or, if every one wants different things resort to #2.

6. Go to stores that have opening hours in successions or availability. Kohl's 4 AM... Wal-mart, always...Big lots 6 AM...Target, always...Roberts 7 AM...

7. Find out which stores ad match and use that one location until it bleeds dry. Honestly, you will never know if the next store will still have what you want. If your looking at it - get it. Pride for your savings will follow.

8. Re-fuel!! After you have gotten the majority of your "I MUST HAVE THIS" item, go to breakfast with your group. Relax a little bit and take a yummy break to get your body ready for the next batch of adventures. Black Friday is a marathon people, not a sprint.

9. Rain checks are amazing. If you know a store will do rain checks, wait to go shopping their later. This way you still can get the price you want but you don't have to spend money today. However, make sure that you do get the rain check between the hours that the sale is on. You don't want to waste your time standing in line for the clerk to say "Sorry, that ended and hour ago."

10. Laugh, have fun, and be nice to the people working. The whole reason of going shopping on Black Friday is to feel the magic that only happens there. People are there to make their wish lists come true. The are shopping for loved ones and spending time with Friends and family. When the lady behind you is shoving the front of her cart into your rear trying to push you forward in the line - shrug it off. Your not "that person" to get mad on Black Friday. You're the pro... you got this.