5 Tips for Saving on Black Friday

The day after Thanksgiving is known in retail circles as Black Friday, the most popular shopping day of the year. But it doesn't have to be a day where crowds wear on your nerves and not much gets accomplished.

Experts recommend the following tips for shopping success:

1. Do your research
Sure, sales fliers arrive with Thanksgiving Day newspapers. But you can usually find the information online ahead of time, says Kim Danger, founder of Mommysavers.com and the family savings expert at Coupons.com.

Two Web destinations posting deals at particular stores are BlackFridayAds.com, which clearly lists the date and time of any update to the site, and the ShopLocal.com Black Friday Shopping Guide. Both sites offer e-mail alerts.

And don't forget to comparison shop online. Danger advises looking up current pricing of items at sites such as Amazon.com and BestBuy.com.

"What seems like a good deal might not be, and may not be worth standing in line for," she says.

2. Create a game plan
Your research should reveal which stores are worth a Black Friday visit. But driving from destination to destination is no way to spend the day.

"Locations with multiple stores are a good choice, so you can avoid a lot of driving, parking and crowded roads," says Eva Yusa, known on her ShopLocal.com blog as Eva the Shopping Diva.

Speaking of driving, the planning should also involve prepping the car.

"Make sure the trunk is cleaned out or back seats are removed from your van," Danger says. "Top off your tank to avoid wasting time at the gas station."

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