Thanksgiving is a day of thanks for the positive people celebrating a turkey, cranberry sauce and delicious desserts.
Black Friday is the opposite with its traffic, angry shoppers, crowds and surviving the chaos and stress.
There are a lot of tips than can help navigate the situation and keep the wallet intact.
Before heading out on the shopping excursion, the first thing to do is make a plan. Map out the stores, have a shopping list, have a full tank of gas and make sure the cell phone is charged and not on silent before arriving.
Black Friday isn’t a fashion contest, so pack the bulky purse away and opt for a fanny pack that will hold a wallet and cell phone to make it more difficult for pickpockets. Some important tips: -Do not buy more than can be carried: Plan ahead by taking a friend along. Only ask for help from trusted people.
- Use shopping baskets or bags instead of a cart. There is nothing worse than trying to wheel a cart through a mob of people also trying to wheel carts through a mob of people. Slip right past the crowd by avoiding the cart entirely. For larger items, use the buddy system.
-Save all receipts: Print and save all confirmations from online purchases. Start a file folder to keep all receipts together and to help verify credit card or bank statements as they come in. This is extra important on this shopping day.
-Don’t flash the cash: Consider alternate options to pay for merchandise, such as onetime or multiuse disposable credit cards or money orders, including at online stores. If using credit cards, write down the info and leave it home in the event a wallet is stolen or lost so it can be reported immediately.
-Wait until asked by a cashier before taking out a credit card or checkbook: An enterprising thief would love to shoulder surf to get account information.
-Have keys in hand when approaching your vehicle: Check the back seat and around the car before getting in.
-Tell a security guard or store employee if observing an unattended bag or package.
-Do not leave packages visible in the car: Lock them in the trunk, or if possible, take them directly home.
-If shopping with children: Make a plan in people are separated from each other. Select a central meeting place. Teach them store personnel or store security employees if they need help. And have them memorize or have the cell phone number handy.
-For online shopping, keep personal information private and passwords secure. Do not respond to requests to “verify”your password or credit card information. Legitimate businesses will not contact customers in this manner. Shop incognito is using Google Chrome.
-Beware of “bargains” from companies that are unfamiliar - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
-Use secure websites for purchases. Look for the icon of a locked padlock at the bottom of the screen or “https”in the URL address.
-Check the stores online for Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and get a head of the game. Many have been advertising for weeks.