It’s the most wonderful time of the year — if being inundated with deals brings you joy.
If not, it can be kind of overwhelming. Officially, Black Friday is Nov. 28. But many sales are already underway.
Some examples: Target has daily deals happening now, and Best Buy is offering “early Black Friday deals,” too. Other retailers are planning for “Black Friday week” with sales starting Nov. 20 or sooner.
Manage the madness without marking up your calendar by simply knowing what a good price is for the items you want to buy.
You can also narrow down your list to the categories most likely to go low. We have some suggestions for you.
Buy: Top toys of the season
Toys make for a top category to get ahead of the Christmas curve. Every kid wants a Nintendo Switch 2, but don’t hold your breath for major markdowns on it. Instead, look for options like these, which are hot toys to grab now, according to website Toy Insider (and not as pricey as a game console).
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Melissa & Doug Sort, Stock, Select Beauty Kiosk Play Set
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Fisher-Price Imaginext Jurassic World Rebirth Ultimate Action Chomp T. Rex
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Play-Doh Barbie Designer Fashion Show Playset
“A new twist is that toy deals will be dropping earlier this year because people are worried about how tariffs will increase prices,” says Andrea Woroch, a money-saving expert who shares budgeting tips on her website.
Since toys are imported from all over, you can use the latest tariff news to inform your buying decision. Consider buying anything imported before actual Black Friday.
“Generally speaking, if you’re getting around 30% [off], you’re getting a good deal,” says Woroch. “Go ahead and buy.”
Skip: Furniture and home decor
Nobody wants a new dresser for Christmas. And is a living room set really in the budget right now? That’s your call, of course, but we like the end of winter and end of summer, around Presidents Day and Labor Day, respectively, for best buys on furniture.
If a pricier purchase fits your budget, now is a good time to buy something big-ticket, says Ashley Feinstein Gerstley, Rakuten’s shopping and savings strategist.
What’s more big ticket and on-brand for Black Friday than a big-screen TV?
Models from LG, Samsung and Sony make up many of the larger-size sets with the highest ratings on Consumer Reports, and you can probably score hundreds of dollars off a good one if you shop around.
For example, Samsung’s 65-inch Class S84 OLED 4K TV (model: QN65S84FA), which Consumer Reports ranks high, was $899.99 earlier this month at Best Buy, a savings of $1,100 according to the store listing.
Pay attention to the model number, double-check features (like how many HDMI ports it has), and look at reviews before you grab a deal that feels too good to be true, says Woroch.
“You want to make sure it’s a model that was sold all year long, and not something made specifically for Black Friday,” she says.
Sale-specific models may skimp on overall quality and features, she adds.
Hats, gloves and coats are a skip for Black Friday, says Woroch. Since winter apparel is a quintessential holiday gift category, stores can hold off on bigger discounts for a while.
“We will see better deals closer to Christmas,” she says. “Retailers will start discounting it further if they don’t sell it.”
“And if it’s not a gift item, then I would even wait until after Christmas,” she says.
Small kitchen appliances also make for good gifts, or something to splurge on for yourself. Air fryers, coffee makers, blenders and other countertop gadgets are all fair game.
You can look for deals at big box stores or shop brand sites directly. KitchenAid, for example, is taking up to $180 off stand mixers at KitchenAid.com, Nov. 16-30.
Feinstein Gerstley, from Rakuten, has her eye on a specific model of the Ninja CREAMi, and has a price in mind.
“It’s a small discount right now, so I’ll wait,” she says.
She plans to watch the price until Black Friday and may even hold off until Cyber Monday.
In past years, through NerdWallet’s price-tracking research, we’ve seen kitchen gadgets go lower on Cyber Monday than on Black Friday. So, you might want to roll the dice for Monday, Dec. 1.
Search for: Offbeat Black Friday discounts
It’s not all gadgets and gifts this time of year. Black Friday deals have a broad range of categories. Think outside the box to save more money.
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Check streaming services for promotions: Hulu and Disney+ have offered sweet monthly savings for new subscribers this time of year (like $0.99 a month for Hulu in 2024).
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Get discounted gift cards you know you’ll use: Woroch says Costco may add deals to already discounted gift cards, and Redditors tout Dollar General for offering sporadic savings on cards for stores, restaurants and brands people love. Just make sure it’s a place you know you’ll go.
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Plan to go and stay somewhere for less: Travel is a sleeper category this time of year. Look for hotel, resort, theme park and flight deals, especially on Travel Tuesday, the day after Cyber Monday.
Shopping tips to help you hug your money
Feinstein Gerstley used the term “money hugging” to describe how consumers are feeling about their finances right now.
“It’s this idea that you want to spend in a more strategic way so that it goes farther,” she says.
Being an informed shopper helps you hold onto your dollars. Browser extensions like Keepa, Karma and the Camelizer are helpful for tracking prices over time and can set alerts for price drops.
All can add to the bottom line, but can also make shopping overwhelming. For that reason, we recommend sticking to one or two strategies that work for you.
