Oh Black Friday! How I love thee...ye...you?! Seriously. I do a lot of shopping through the year, but I FINISH (well mostly) on Black Friday. It is my big triumphant shopping day of the year...usually...or at least it was before Walmart and the Internet (darn you Cyber Monday!) ruined it for me.

Let me explain by first talking a little bit about "Black Friday" shopping the Beckee's Deals way. (Some of this explanation is reposted from one of my Black Friday posts from last year!)

I have, for YEARS, been a huge Black Friday Shopper and usually have done all my shopping for Christmas on Black Friday (well I do end up getting a stocking stuffer or 2 after). During my husband's residency the last 5 years, he has often been working on Black Friday (Which really was the first thing to ruin Black Friday before Walmart or the Internet stepped up to the plate). In spite of his work schedule, most years I still managed to get in a few REALLY early morning (and late night Thanksgiving) deals before he left for work. I love it...Love my Black Friday Adventures.

Here is my take on how to do Black Friday! When my newspaper comes on Thanksgiving morning, I am like a kid in a candy store! I sit down on my bed with the Macy's parade playing and the food already cooking in the kitchen and I whip out the ads. I go through and circle the GREAT deals I would LOVE to get in each ad-taking special note of the door busters. I write a list of each store, what door busters I would love to have and what time that store opens for their door buster sales. (BEFORE Thanksgiving, I sit down with my husband and we write up a list of who we need to buy for and what we think we might want to get them.)

Before I go on, I must note that already in my plan, the Internet and Walmart have interfered. First, the Internet now posts the Black Friday ads early so I lose that excitement and the anticipation of waiting for and devouring the Thanksgiving day ads. Oh I know it means I can plan ahead, but frankly I think that is overrated! :)   AND that is not all...Walmart you dirty beast! Now you open up for your Black Friday ads on Thursday night?! Really? On the Holiday? Oh and don't think I am forgetting all of Walmart's friends (competitors...) that ALSO open up during the evening/middle of the night hours. Sure, that gives me the chance to shop before my husband (that trouble maker) has to go in to work, but come on! When do I get to hang out with the family, and when do I sleep (I can answer that one-I sleep on Black Friday afternoon!)

Moving on with my Black Friday plan. Next, I compare the 2 lists I have made (the one with who we need to buy for and the one with the best prices and the times the stores open) and prioritize-are there specific items from my list of gifts I am looking for that are great deals somewhere on sale? What Door busters do I really want and are they at a place that usually has a ton of the items (like Walmart usually does here) or a place that limits the number to the first 25 (like Nebraska Furniture Mart)? Basically I look at what my odds are of getting what I want at the stores and PRIORITIZE.

Once I have prioritized and listed which items I actually want to get and at which store they will be sold, then I look at the times the stores open in the morning and write up a plan of action as to where to go first, second, etc.
Here is another place Walmart has stepped in and ruined my traditions. How? Two words: Price Matching. Oh Price Matching how I love and loathe you! Sure you save me more money and make it more convenient to get everything is one place, but really-those are some INSANE crowds and lines!! Wow...

Growing up in Utah, my mom and I would Black Friday shop each year and I LOVED it! We had adventures planning and carrying out the plan. We would do things like drag my teen sister along so we could get enough door busters and we would go store to store dropping off family members to try to get the best stuff at each store (BEFORE we all had cell phones). We would socialize in the long lines, make new friends and fight for the items we wanted! I LOVED our adventures, and I seek after them year to year still...

However, a lovely little thing on the Internet (adventure ruiner!) has arrived in force over the past years that makes it almost too convenient for me to get the same or better deals without leaving my laptop! That would be "Cyber Monday." More and more places have their weekend sales ONLINE (door busters and all) and "Cyber Monday" just seems to grow exponentially from year to year.

To quote Belle (from Disney's Beauty and the Beast), "I want adventure in the great wide somewhere, I want it more than I can tell" And friends, I want that adventure OUT of my House on Black Friday! Curse you Walmart and the Internet for making my adventures harder to come by, and Walmart's Price matching policy this year with Retroactive Price matching is stepping it up again! It will make it even more convenient to do all shopping there!

Sigh...I guess if Walmart and the Internet keep making the shopping so easy and convenient I will have to seek adventure elsewhere...maybe I should try bungee jumping?!

You may or may not be aware that Wal-mart updated their ad matching guarantee policy and coupon policy recently. I have not mentioned this to this point, but I want to say a few things about the new ad matching guarantee policy and how it has affected me locally.

First thing I want to note is that the new policy states "We do not require customers to have the ad with them to honor a competitor's ad." Many, Many bloggers are praising this new note as it makes ad matching easier to do when you do not have to bring the ads and prove each price match. Apparently at most Wal-Marts nationwide in the past it has been commonplace to have to have the ads with you before this change. That is not the case here in Omaha.

Here in Omaha, I have never before this policy change brought ads with me to price match. I just have a list with the price matches listed on it. I have never had a problem price matching like that and have only been asked to prove an ad match 2 times total (thank goodness I happened to have the ads with me both times).

Since this new policy went into effect, it has actually made price matching harder here in Omaha and has caused me to NEED my ads with me all the time. Why you ask? Well, because the checkers are supposed to be responsible to know the ad matches, so the local managers have made up basically cheat sheets of the most common ad matches from week to week for the checkers to use. This means that each time I have a price match the lovely checkers grab their list and check to see if it is listed on it. The problem there is that not all ad prices are listed-only the most common or popular ones (I have found that ends up being the front page items usually).

So, if I give a valid price match that is not on their incomplete list from the managers, the checkers will NOT believe it is valid and will NOT give the price match. So you have to get a manager over and depending on the manager, they often will also NOT match the price UNLESS you show it to them in the ad. SO...I have to have my ads with me all the time to shop now because their lists are SOOOO incomplete. It sucks...that is all.

Another note about the new policy that I hate is that they "DO NOT match the price of Competitors' private label price promotions." This means they no longer price match generic brand to generic brand. DANG! That is super frustrating...

So, is price matching at Wal Mart still worth it? Well, it is now a bigger hassle than it used to be, but it is still a bigger hassle to price match at Target (since I have to go to customer service to check out with price matches there). So, yes, I will continue to price match at Walmart as it saves me so much money, but I will also continue to complain to the managers and corporate at Walmart about how their new policy has had the opposite effect they wanted.

I also will continue to keep my ads in my diaper bag just in case and I will make sure to keep a copy of the ad matching guarantee policy and the coupon policy with me as well. I recommend you also print out the policies and keep them with you.

Have any of you had similar problems or is this just me?

I have been asked about the Price matching at Walmart. I have mentioned quite a few times how much I LOVE to price match there as they make it easy and convenient. I will tell you my experiences price matching there and how I do it, but I want to let you know first that you can read Walmart's official Price matching policy on their website here.

Now, it says on there that "Store managers make the final decision in always taking care of our customers, but we do have guidelines for matching our competition". So, there is some discrepancy from store to store with how they price match or what they will match. Here in Omaha, I have never had a problem price matching.

Basically they will match any advertised price from a competitor on a like item. If the item is a generic/store brand, my Walmart will price match that with their generic/store brand of same items (same size and product). When I go shopping, I generally just make a list of what I am getting and what the price match is. So, my list will look something like this (I am making up the deals though-these are not actual sales going on):

Milk: gallon $1.77 @Hyvee
Bread: Sara Lee $.99 @Bag N Save
Crayola Crayons: 24 pack $.19 @ Hyvee
Coke 24 packs: $5.48 @Super Saver

Then I go to the store with my list and get it all and head to the checkout. I ALWAYS let the checker know before he/she starts putting items through that I have a lot of price matches and coupons. As they scan, I just watch my list and give them the matching price on the item before they scan it. It is pretty easy in my store.

However, I have heard stories of people having trouble price matching, so I always have the ads in my bag with me in case they question a price match, I have only had that happen 2 times ever, and all I had to do was show them the ad and the manager had to come over and approve it (the reason this happened both times was because the price difference was so great between the Walmart price and the price match that it flagged in the system.) Since the price match is kind up up to the store manager in the end, it is nice to be able to have the ad there if there is a problem. I would also just as a precaution, print a Walmart price match policy out and bring it with you to show them if necessary.

I have not had any major problems price matching at Walmart just make sure you have the SAME item to match, make a list of your items/price matches to refer to as you check out and shop, and bring in the ads and price match policy in case you do have an issue that needs to be resolved.

I hope this little guide to Walmart price matching was helpful! Let me know if you have any further questions about it by leaving a comment on this post or emailing me at beckeesdeals@gmail.com

I am going through the ads in my newspaper today in Omaha and here are my favorite deals from various stores:

Hyvee

• 4 lb Pkg Strawberries $3.99
• 5 lb bag Russet Potatoes $.88
• Dr Pepper product 12 packs 3 for $8 (with in ad coupon)
• Ripe Haas Avocados 10 for $10
• HyVee whole wheat pasta 13.25 oz various kinds $.88
• Coke products 12 packs 3 for $10 (with in ad coupon)
• HyVee 12 oz cottage cheese $.88

**HyVee has a 3 day sale Thursday-Saturday (April 15-17) as well as their weekly ad. On those 3 days, you can get a game card to scan at the PepsiCo display to try to win prizes. They also have some 3 day ad specials. I like the banabas for $.38/lb and the HyVee deli Ham for $1.88/lb.

No Frills Fresh

• Doritos B1G1 ($3.99 each-so you end up getting them for about $2 each)
• ALL Keebler cookeis and crackers B1G1
• Nestle Candy Bars B1G1 (so if you have a B1G1 coupon, you might be able to get 2 free!!)
• Purex 2X Ultra detergent B1G1
• Yoplait yogurt 10/$4 (when you buy 10 and use in-ad coupon)
• Large Navel Oranges $.88/lb
• Red Delicious apples $.88/lb

**No Frills has some other specials that I will be posting about in a seperate post

Bakers

• 3 lb roll of Ground Chuck $5.64 (so $1.88/lb) with card

**The BEST deal at Bakers is actually on a 2-Day Special running Friday, April 16 and Saturday, April 17. It is Kellogg's Cereals for 50% off (with card). Their ad says the regular retail is $2.91-$4.10.

Super Saver

• Pork Loin in a bag $1.58/lb (pretty good, but I never stock up on this until it is under $1/lb)
• Bakery Fresh Sliced Bread $.88
• Ragu Pasta Sauce $.98 (limit 2)
• Meadow Gold/Viva Milk $1.97/gal

Bag N Save

• Old Orchard Apple Cocktails $.97
• Hamburger or Coney Buns $.49 (limit 6)
• 90% lean ground round $1.98/lb
• Yoplait yogurt 10/$4 (when you buy 10 and use in-ad coupon)
• Large Navel Oranges $.88/lb
• Kellogg's Mini Wheats (14-18 oz) or Raisin Bran(20 oz) $1.97 & wyb (meaning when you buy) 2 cereals, you get a Kellogg's reusable bag FREE (while supplies last)
• Pop Tarts 2/$3
• Our Family Frozen potatoes 28-32 oz $1.99

Aldi

• Satin Soft Dryer balls 2 pack $3.99
• Fit and Active Soy Milk 64 oz $2.29
• Mushrooms $.69 per package
• Baby Carrots $.49 per package
• Garden Salad $.29 each

Do I actually go to all these stores? NO I generally just price match at Walmart! I LOVE being able to do that. And Speaking of Walmart, I will be posting about a couple deals going on there as well!!