Money Savers: Shopping Black Friday

It's a tradition in many households the day after Thanksgiving- wake up before dawn and hit the Black Friday sales for deep discounts. 

 The key to shopping Black Friday sales this year might be shopping a day earlier. Several big retailers are encouraging consumers to shop on Black Friday Eve.

This year you can start shopping right after you've finished your Thanksgiving dinner.
Retail giants like Walmart and Sears plan to open their doors at 8 pm  with several early bird deals.

Target and Toys R Us are also opening their doors Thanksgiving evening, and they'll be staggering discounts all throughout the weekend.

Target is offering $10 gift cards to customers who spend $50 or more.
And the first 200 customers in line at Toys R Us get free goodie bags.

A quarter of shoppers said they were at a store by midnight on Black Friday last year.
So it's no surprise the stores are starting sales even earlier. 

The big question- are you willing to leave the dinner table early enough to get a bargain?

Here are few tips before hitting the crowded stores-
-start your search online
-make a list and a strategic plan.
- scope out the stores ahead of time. 
- consider purchasing some discounted gift cards to use.  You can find them on sites like E-Bay Auctions and Gift Card Rescue.