Find the Black Friday Sales Before Black Friday

Everybody knows that Thanksgiving is this week, but there is another holiday of sorts that follows the day after Thanksgiving: Black Friday. Black Friday is the day that most retailers use to officially launch the holiday shopping season, although some retailers have already kicked off their Christmas shopping season early. There are definitely good deals to be had on Black Friday, but how do you find them?

Fortunately, there is a way of scouting out the Black Friday sales ahead of time, and this can help you pre-plan your Black Friday shopping experience and get you in and out of the stores quickly and back home in time to enjoy those turkey leftovers for lunch. Here are a few places where you can get a sneak peak at Black Friday sales, without stepping foot outside of your home or smudging your hands with ink from the newspaper sales circulars:

bfads.net - Not only can you get the scoop on in-store sales, but this web site has details about Black Friday sales available on shopping web sites as well.

blackfriday.info - This site has links to the Black Friday sales circulars of several retail chains.

black-friday.net - More links to online Black Friday ads for the nation's biggest retail chains.

blackfridayads.com - Billed as "the web site retailers don't want you to see!", this site has links to online Black Friday circulars for major retailers.

blackfriday.gottadeal.com - Links to Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.

Cyber Monday, the Monday following Black Friday, is supposedly one of the busiest online shopping days of the year, with deals to match. I haven't necessarily found this to be the case, and I really try to avoid the Black Friday sales as well, unless there is a gift item that has been so ridiculously slashed in price that it would save me a LOT of money. Otherwise, I do most of my shopping a couple of weeks before Christmas. I have found that the closer to Christmas it is, the lower the prices get. No retailer wants to be stuck with extra inventory after Christmas. And, if you want a great deal on Christmas decorations, gift wrap and cards, wait until AFTER Christmas, and stock up for next year. Those items are usually discounted 50 to 80 percent following the holidays.