A lot of retailers out there participate in black Friday events and some of them have even taken things a whole step further and start their deals on Thanksgiving day, rather than actually starting on black Friday. I guess the name doesn’t really matter all that much, especially when there’s money to be made and these stores just can’t seem to make that money fast enough. So, as a consumer, what do you do when you want to take advantage of those black Friday specials? I mean, is it worth skipping out on Thanksgiving dinner to save a few bucks and wait in line with hundreds or even thousands of other deal-hungry shoppers?

What if I told you that you should actually avoid the stores on black Friday? What if I told you that you should just hang out at the house and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with everyone else? Now, what if I told you that you could do all of this while also getting those great deals? It’s doable and easier than you think. Scroll down to see my reasons why you should never go to black Friday.

Get a deal alert app or browser add-on.

Technology is our friend and it will help us score the best deals. There are plenty of browser add-ons and apps out there that will alert you when prices drop on items that you’re interested in. As soon as an item gets marked down, you’ll get an alert. From there, you could order the item online and have it shipped to your front door or you could go out to the store and pick it up yourself. This way, you won’t have to go shopping on a specific day and fight the crowds.

Better deals will pop up in the future.

Did you know that items that are marked down on black Friday will likely be marked down even more in the very near future? A lot of parents buy toys for their children on black Friday, but the best time to go toy shopping is actually during the first week of December. That’s when you’ll get the deepest discounts on certain items. As for home décor, you should wait until the second week of December.

The early bird gets the worm.

If you want the absolute best deals on something on black Friday, you’ll have to get there very early. Some stores out there offer special “door buster” deals that they use to try and lure even more customers in, but very few people even get their hands on these items and once supplies are gone; they’re gone. Also, you likely won’t even know what door buster deals are going on, because most stores, such as Best Buy, won’t even tell people until it’s the day of black Friday.

You’re impulse shopping.

It’s extremely easy to make impulse purchases on black Friday, because you want to snag up that excellent deal before anyone else can get their hands on it. Before you know it, you’ve purchased things you don’t really need or even want. Therefore, instead of saving money, you’ve actually blew through your budget.