Black Friday: Tips to Make Deals Work for You

DENVER - NOVEMBER 26: Low-income shoppers search bins for toys at a Goodwill thrift store on Black Friday, November 26, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. People packed the thrift store on the busiest shopping day of the year, buying toys and clothes in bulk for as cheap as 59 cents a pound. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) (2010 Getty Images)

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are right around the corner! The retailers have been touting their deals and their 'special' opening hours for weeks now!

We need to have our strategy in place to score big savings.

Tips to make the Black Friday deals work for you:

1. Know your prices

Yes, there are deals to be scored during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, not every advertised sale is a deal. If you know what's the maximum you would pay for that new TV, for example, then it will be easier for you to decide which stores to visit. Use resources like PriceGrabber and Amazon's price comparison app.

2. Schedule your store visits!

Decide which stores you want to visit and note their opening times. Electronics and toys are always hot ticket items, if you have them on your list, visit those stores first.

3. Read the Ads

Check the official Black Friday ad and read all the details. Make sure you know if there are sales that are limited to a certain amount of products. Ask yourself, is it really worth going to a store if they'll only have two TVs on sale? Wait for the Super Bowl sales in February when the stores are well stocked.

4. Divide and conquer

By ourselves, it's very difficult to hit every sale. Enlist the help of your significant other or best friend to visit multiple stores. This will help you score more deals at the same time.

Black Friday shopping is not for the faint of heart! It's a fast & furious shopping time in the stores! Cyber Monday is quite a bit more relaxed and you only have to camp out in front of your computer in your pajamas!

Yoly Mason writes about frugality and savings tips and tricks in her popular Spanish written blog Cuponeando.net.