Who’s ready for the big sales this Friday? I certainly am. With the upcoming holiday season, companies are marking down a few (or many) of their high demand items for this once a year occasion. Due to all the holiday sales, it can get overwhelming when it comes to all the discount goodness. Whether it’s missing a sale, not getting a good enough sale or even forgetting about an item you wanted until after the day has past. Luckily, this guide is here to alleviate some of the stress and help lead you toward what you want.

How to buy

Say it with me… Budget! Budget! Budget! There is no need to go broke over this day. Yes, there are a bunch of hearty sales to put your paws on, but it is not worth using every cent towards a new aesthetic.

Fast fashion is a big issue right now. Also, if you’re buying something on a whim, you most likely don’t need it, nor will have the money necessary to back it up. We are all guilty of adding things to the cart that are on sale, and once you get to check out you realize you blew your recent paycheck. 

What I recommend before shopping is scanning the stores you are looking for first and seeing what they are offering. Look at the item full price, and ask yourself a couple of questions: Would you buy this full price? How much is this item to you? These two questions have really helped guide me to saving myself from spending. 

Next, go back to your cart on Black Friday. Remember those carts, and what you asked yourself? Are these items on sale how you wanted them? If they make the mark for you, then go ahead and buy. If not, you got to let it go. 

Side note, if you look at a store and see no items that interest you, then don’t go back. If it didn’t interest you at full price, on sale the items will be a quick phase and then will rot somewhere in your room. 

Another good add to get a bonus on every dollar you spend is to sign in or sign up for an airline membership and use it as a portal.

Where to buy

Now when it comes to guiding yourself through a sale, my main targets for Black Friday sales are good clothing, shoes, home-wear and makeup. Personally, throughout the year I create a list of popular items, or personal wish lists to what I want in a year. (FYI the popular items list is a good reference for a gift guide.) Then, I cross reference this list to where they are sold.

Clothing

A few good places to shop for nice adds to your closet is Abercrombie & Fitch and SKIMS. One of my favorite items from Abercrombie is the essential hoodie. It is a hoodie that really is a hoodie. It has the large hood, the oversized fit, the large sleeves and there are plenty of colors. Another good piece from Abercrombie is their square neck body suit. It’s similar to the skims essential long sleeve scoop neck body suit, which is also a love of mine.

Another good piece from skims is the fits everybody t-shirt. Black Friday and Skims bi-annual show lines up together, so you can shop the website and look at some pieces that give you interest. But, keep in mind things are going fast. My final find is Dillards, if you hunt across this website you can find a couple of good finds including Kendra Scott and Levi’s brand-wise. 

Shoes

Shoes are some of my favorite items, on and off sale. Always a good place to look is Nike, of course. They are currently doing twenty-five percent off select items including a couple Air Jordan 1s. Birkenstock are also offering an end of season sale on many of their styles. One good find I was able to find early was a few different colors and styles of their signature Arizona shoe. 

Home-wear

One of the best places to locate trendy, good-quality home-wear for teens is Urban Outfitters. Their items range from storage cupboards, to shelving and curtains. Just scrolling through their website you can find little tchotchkes to spruce up our room. Also, Fixer Uppers brand at Target, Magnolia is undergoing a couple of sales until this Saturday. It’s not common to see such a sale for this company, so just hunting around for what’s being offered will not hurt.

Beauty

Self care and makeup are great as a gift, or to gift yourself. Go-to websites for beauty stores are Ulta and Sephora. Each store offers certain brands and different sales, so hopping between both stores would be a good bang for your buck. Another hack I have gained over the past few Black Fridays is to look at individual brands to buy. For example, Summer Fridays is a popular brand and exclusively offering 20 percent off a purchase for the weekend.