The mayhem of Black Friday is nearly upon us, so it’s time to bend the credit card and bag all of those discounted goods. Whether you are shopping online or parting with your cash in the shops, negotiating the vast array of deals can be brain bending. “Which” claims that the UK is expected to spend about £1 billion on Black Friday. But shopping savvy is important, don’t get had by apparent bargains. Here are a few tips to consider.

• Be prepared by signing up to your favourite retailers newsletters, register your likes on Facebook and twitter so you can grab any bargains on offer first.
• Do all the retailers price match? For example John Lewis do, but not with online stores such as Amazon or AO. If this is the case then doing the majority of your purchasing with one store will safe time, money and delivery charges.
• Research is key. Don’t buy rubbish just because it appears like a bargain. Just because something has 90% off does not mean it’s worth purchasing, check out what you want from an item before your process any payments at the checkout.
• Price checker websites can be useful, compare prices of the items you wish to purchase and make a list of the different people selling those items.
• Argos will hold products for up to seven days after purchase, so clicking buy and then picking up your items after the chaotic rush could make life more bearable! You will also save on postage costs.
• Start on line shopping at the crack of dawn, the websites will be running more efficiently, last year saw many sites slowing down or crashing altogether.