For an entire week, I had the luxury of driving around a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox, courtesy of Chevrolet’s Driving in the Heartland team, dedicated to the heartland of America! You can check out their website or follow their tweets, @ChevyTexan, for their latest adventures, offers, fantastic finds, and more.

As a savvy deal finder, I definitely wanted Chevrolet to get their money’s worth, I tweeted #chevyhaul like crazy and during Black Friday I managed to make it to 20 different stores, starting at midnight with my friend and fellow blogger Gita of the uber-fashion blog, Mimi and Chichi.

Top 10 Black Friday Shopping Tips

In preparation of Black Friday 2012, here are 10 things that every savvy Chevy Haul shopper should know:

1 – Do the math! It is very easy to think you’re getting a good deal on Black Friday. You wait the entire year for sales like these. The only day of the year Apple deems worthy of offering a discount…but to feel good at the end of the day, make sure you’re getting a good deal on quality items!

Walmart was offering an Emerson 32? 720p LCD TV for $188 but who could beat the quality and discounts offered by Best Buy’s Sharp 42” 1080p LCD HDTV for ONLY $199.99. Plus, with the Walmart horror stories on the news and talking with other shoppers in line, I doubt I’ll ever  visit Wallyworld on Black Friday.

2 – Map it out! With many stores opening at midnight (and some even opening on Thanksgiving day — too early if you ask me…) you’ll not only want to make sure you understand where you’re headed but WHEN you need to head there. Before I hit the road in my Chevy Equinox, I made a list of all the stores that opened early, in the order they opened here. There tends to be a gap between the stores that opened at midnight, and the next round that opens at 4-5am…this will keep you busy.

*Another thing to consider, visit stores more out of the way. Although the drive might be longer, the wait will be shorter and more variety will be left untangled. Especially for high demand items, go the extra 20 miles to a remote location that you know won’t be as hectic!

**Many stores open earlier but end the incredible sales before 11am or noon. Get there early if you want to get the best deals!

Click on the Foursquare image below to see the stores that I stopped at and the deals at the time.

3 – Bring a snack! If you’re always snacking like my friend Gita and I you’ll want to bring some holiday leftovers (brusselsprouts and cookies) as well as some water and energy drinks. At every store we visited, people were complaining of hunger pains, impatiently waiting for the food courts and other restaurants to open. Crabby people make impatient shoppers who are more willing to just buy things they don’t want. Give your wallet a fair chance.

4 – Leave the kids at home! We were waiting in line at Old Navy, for 30 minutes outside (so many people showed up for the free digital camera, fire hazards limited the number of shoppers allowed in at one time…) and it was fairly cold for us Texans. In front and behind us were were sobbing toddlers, begging to go home. Finally, seconds before being let into the store, the mothers staggered off with their children. MAKE CHILDCARE ARRANGEMENTS! There are a lot of children friendly daycares, gyms, and play places that offer moms and dads Black Friday shopping drop offs, starting early in the morning until the afternoon.

*With the new midnight shopping time, I also noticed a LOT of tweens running loose at the mall. Apparently their parents dropped them off with friends, while waiting for their stores to open, you could see some inappropriate makeout sessions going on. PARENTS – shopping is not the only thing that goes on at the maul…I mean mall.

5 – Go big or go home! Some of the best deals that I saw being offered were in department stores! For all your houseware needs, Macy’s and Sear’s were the way to go!

• KitchenAid Pro 500 Series Mixer for $199.99 at Sears
• Macy’s offered 20% off additional Black Friday sale prices! Gita got amazing sheets, retailed at $600 for less than $250!

6 – Fight the Crowds! With the explosion of online Black Friday sales, who in their right mind would consider fighting the crowds when all of your shopping can be done from the comfort of your own home? I’ll give you one reason why. Every year, without fail, there are significant online outages or slowdowns because of the crazy amounts of traffic generated from the 20 million other people who want to shop from the comfort of their own homes.

I remember one year I spent 3 hours painfully fighting Kohls website, adding things to the shopping cart, trying to checkout with them, being told they were sold out or having my cart emptied prematurely. In 2.5 hours I probably could have fought the masses, tried on clothes, AND checked out! Never again!

7 – Keep it social! Above was a list of all my foursqaure check ins. Make sure you take advantage of all the social and in-store promotions being offered! Many Foursquare venues offered additional discounts to shoppers. At Old Navy, Gita won an additional coupon for being the first to bring up a nail file during a contest. Many retailers on Twitter offered their followers Twitter only coupons AND additional #hashtag contests. With everyone else busy shopping, the chances of your winning is increased greatly!

8 – Chevy-sized vehicle for haul! This year I was blessed to have a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox to haul around all our deals! Buy a new car, borrow a friends, clean out your trunk before hitting the road!

Our Equinox offered:

• great gas mileage so we could go the distance
• plenty of storage space for our shopping haul
• comfy seats when we needed to give our feet a rest
• hiding places so we didn’t get mugged (always be wary of your surroundings, don’t be sitting ducks…)

9 – Additional tips and tricks! Here are some more helpful tips and tricks for making the most out of Black Friday:

• Sign up for email alerts from your favorite stores ahead of time
• Buy the newspaper on Thanksgiving for printed coupons and tons of store ads (nice consolidated view for the last minute shopper)
• Download a Black Friday mobile app like BF Ads that gets updated with new ads all the time, is easy to use, and works without an internet connection (mall 3g can be shady)
• Shop the off hours! Old Navy was CRAZY and had a long line at midnight, but everywhere else we visited between 2am to 7am had virtually no lines! Traffic starts to pick back up around 7am…
• Make sure you get a place in line. If you’re battling it out for the best Best Buy offer, get there early and get the ticket. Ask for one. You need proof you were there at 24 hours before midnight and not some random person who waltzed up when the clock struck 12.

Driving in the Heartland invited me to:

So, what better way to ease some of that holiday shopping stress than by taking a brand new Chevy for a spin to get all of your shopping done in comfort and style? This year, Chevrolet will be giving five fabulous bloggers a Chevy vehicle to drive while they take on their holiday shopping throughout the Heartland. Three bloggers from Texas and two bloggers from St. Louis, Missouri, will be riding comfortably in Chevy cars and crossovers in the next few weeks, and you can follow along as they navigate the madness on Twitter using the hashtag #ChevyHaul.

Check out all the details here.

Related posts:

1. 2011 Black Friday Store Hours
2. Black Friday 2011 Deals
3. Eversave San Antonio

Although the “12 Days of Christmas” normally occurs the day after Christmas, December 26 leading to the Feast of Epiphany, on the twelfth day, on January 6, the following retailers and talk show hosts are offering 12 days of giveaways, discounts, and prizes to get you in the holiday spirit!

Check back daily from now until the 12 of December (depending on the website…) and take advantage of their that day only sale or surprise. Enter to win giveaways or use special coupon codes! Online only.

FOODIES

Godiva

Starbucks 12 festive holiday gifts

RETAILERS

Dell

Netted

CELEBRITY GIVEAWAYS

Ellen Show Tune in to see these fantastic prizes and watch all show long to see the names of the 25 lucky winners.

Oprah Twelve lucky readers will win the Favorite Things chosen by Oprah

TRAVEL

Norwegian Cruise Line

Thai Airways 12 days special fares

Related posts:

1. 2011 President’s Day Sales and Coupons

Does anyone here like to win free stuff?! (I know I do!!)

Thanks to Eversave San Antonio, one of my fabulous readers is going to walk away with a gift certificate to Dallia’s Hair and Nail Studio ($55 value!!)

Multiple Ways to Enter and Win:

• Simply leave a comment at the end of this blog post on which local San Antonio restaurant or retailer you’d like to see featured on Eversave next!
• Tweet:  I want to win an @EversaveSAT deal on @geekettebits.com! Pls RT! http://bit.ly/tsnVtW #gbcontest
• Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/geekettebits
• Become a Fan on Facebook: http://facebook.com/geekettebitsfan
• Tag “Geekette Bits” in a wall post on Facebook with a link to this blog post!

** All winners must have already signed up for Eversave San Antonio! **

Did you know?? Eversave San Antonio:

• Local deals offered DAILY! National deals offered as well!
• Get $2 off coupon just for signing up today!
• Convince you’re friends to sign up too, you’ll get $10 for EACH friend as soon as they make their first Eversave purchase!

Become a fan on Facebook:

Follow their tweets, @EversaveSAT:

The winner will be selected randomly on Tuesday, November 22! Check back to see if you won!

Related posts:

1. 2011 Lemonade Day San Antonio
2. San Antonio Daily Deals
3. Le Midi | San Antonio, TX

Don’t forget to check out my 2009 Black Friday post and my 2010 Black Friday posts for my past Black Friday shopping plans and favorite websites. I read through them and both still absolutely apply!

Based on the stores listed by Black Friday 2011, I sorted the stores by open hours (a LOT of stores are opening their doors at midnight this year!!) so that you can strategically forgo sleep and pace yourself like I plan to from midnight to 10am (at which point the major deals are mostly over…)

After spending one year fighting Kohl’s website outages (let’s performance test people!!) I have been paranoid about doing all my shopping online. Where do you plan on shopping?  The list of over 40 stores below link to their Black Friday newspaper ad.

*I’ll update this list the week of Black Friday with more stores and store hours!

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BlackFridayFans

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/BlackFridayFans

iPhone App:
http://www.blackfriday2011.com/app

Related posts:

1. 2011 President’s Day Sales and Coupons
2. 2011 Back to School Coupons

Looking for some back to school coupons? Below are almost 50 coupons at various clothing and office retailers to help meeting all your back to school clothing needs while staying within your budget!! Let me know if you’d like to see coupons from particular stores in the future, this is a list of stores that I found currently offering discounts.

*Click on the store image to be taken directly to the offer page or coupon.

Notice that some coupons expire soon and some don’t expire until the end of the year!

Retailer	Discount	Coupon Code	Expiration
	15% off + Free shipping on $50	SCHOOL	08/08/11
	$20 Off $80 purchase	20SCHOOL	08/07/11
	$10 off $50 | $15 off $75 | $20 off $100 Purchases	KIDSBTSPrintable Coupon	08/06/11
	$10 off coupons	Printable Coupon	09/25/11
	$10 off $50 Kids School Uniform Purchase	12DOCKERS10Printable Coupon	09/17/11
	Free Amazon Prime for college students for one year	Online Offer
	25% off Your Entire Purchase	10071	08/07/11
	Free Shipping on Any Order (No Minimum)	FREESHIP711	08/08/11
	20% off purchase	29756561	08/07/11
	15% Off Any Order	79361031	09/01/11
	20% off purchase	39456721 Printable Coupon	08/07/11
	30% Off Any Order	FRIENDSFB	08/07/11
	30% Off Any Order	FRIENDSFB	08/07/11
	20% Off Entire Order	AUGUST20	08/31/11
	20% off $100, 25% off $150, 30% off $200	BRNEW	08/07/11
	15% off entire purchase	ENTXB24	12/31/11
	40% off entire purchase	AUGFLASH11	08/09/11
	20% off entire purchase printable coupon	Printable Coupon
	$15 off $30, $30 off $100, $60 off $200 or $90 off $300	1605	08/07/11
	25% Off Entire Purchase (Regular Priced Items)	124864343Printable Coupon	08/25/11
	15% off $89	LKS1TCB3	10/29/11
	$10 off $60	EXTRA60	10/15/11
	30% off entire purchase	30OFF	08/07/11
	25% Off Your Entire Purchase	30180	08/06/11
	20% off $60+	HTA20AUG	09/02/11
	10% off purchase	DBGAFF10	01/26/12
	20% off entire purchase	CCAUG62	08/09/11
	Various Michaels coupons	Printable	09/30/11
	$25 off $75+ purchase	1290	10/31/11
	$10 Off $50	15863609Printable	08/09/11
	20% off purchase	42565	08/31/11
	$25 off Your Purchase of $100 or more	SASV815	09/05/11
	15% off entire purchase	H3E2011	09/05/11
	20% off + Free Shipping	465	08/18/11
	$15 Off $100,$30 Off $150,$75 Off $250,$150 Off $500	FA1127349	08/15/11
	$15 Off $100,$30 Off $150,$75 Off $250,$150 Off $500	DIVEIN20	08/07/11

Related posts:

1. 2011 President’s Day Sales and Coupons

Ready to shop until you drop? Check out the 44 printable coupons and promotional codes for in-store and online savings at your favorite retailers! Hurry thought because more expire at the end of President’s Day although a couple don’t for a couple days, weeks!

Let me know if you’re looking for something in particular, it looks like a great time to do a little retail therapy!

Retailer	Discount	Promo Code	Expires
	Printable President’s Day Coupon, 8am-12pm	ETNZF	02/21/11
	Online, save $10 Off a $60 Purchase	PRESIDENT10	02/26/11
	44 styles already marked up to 44% off; save an additional 30% w/promo code	GAPSALE30	02/21/11
	20% OFF Sitewide; free shipping >$65	president65	02/22/11
	Everything 50% off Sale; in-store printable coupon here ($10 off $50 purchase)		02/27/11
	25% Off Your Full-Price Purchase; Free shipping on all orders $125 or more	PRESIDENT	02/21/11
	Save 35% Off Your Entire Purchase; Free Shipping >$50	PRESIDENT35	02/21/11
	15% off your Entire Purchase (online & in-store)	THINKSPRING	02/21/11
	$30 Off a $150 Purchase	LHD30	04/30/11
	Extra 40% off entire order (in-store,and online)	733	02/21/11
	$30 Off $75, $70 Off $150 + Free Shipping	3306 ($30 off $75) 3303 ($70 off $150)	02/21/11
	$5 Select Styles + 30% off already reduced items (Online + In-Store); free shipping >$50	FSPRESIDENTS	02/21/11
	33% off List Price of 1 item	BAX3447N	02/21/11
	20% off Everything; Free shipping on orders $50 or more	PDAY11 & PIN 2162	02/21/11
	Extra 50% off clearance (online & in-store)		02/21/11
	An Additional 30% Off Sale Items		02/21/11
	$5 Off your purchase of $25 or more (in-store only)		02/21/11
	70% off Gift Certificates	EAT	02/21/11
	20% off Entire order & Free Ship + $10 off Button down shirts (Online)	29864001	02/21/11
	20% Off Entire Purchase plus 6 more coupons; 40% any one item 2/22-2/26		02/21/11, varies this week
	Extra 25% Off All Sale Merchandise	PRESIDENT25	02/22/11
	15% Off $50, 20% Off $75 (Online + In-Store)	ONPDAY	02/21/11
	15% off Select Items	makeover	02/21/11
	Extra 20% Off Clearance Boots, Coats & Sweaters	20SHOP	02/20/11
	Extra 25% Off Alreay Reduced Items	BRPRES25	02/21/11
	30% off your entire order	CHIEF30	02/21/11
	$10 Off a $50 Purchase (In-Store)		02/21/11
	Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store – 20% Off Your Entire Purchase		02/21/11
	25% Off Your Full-Price Purchase; Free shipping on all orders $125 or more	PRESIDENT	02/21/11
	Extra 15% off all clearance items	SAVE15	02/21/11
	20% Off Women’s Items on Orders of $150+	FABFEB	02/21/11
	20% Off Entire Purchase		03/06/11
	20% off $60		02/21/11
	$10 off $50 or $25 off $100	SAPRES10E	02/21/11
	$10 Off a $40 Purchase	28264592	02/21/11
	$25 Off $75 or more (Online + In-Store)	5521	02/21/11
	Extra 10-15% Off Regular, Sale, & Clearance (Online + In-Store)	PRESIDENT	02/21/11
	Extra 40% off Entire store		02/21/11
	20% Off Any Purchase; $15 Off Every $50 Purchase (Online + In-Store)	664; 241
	$10 Off $50 (Online & In Store)	62601225	02/21/11
	50% Off Sale Items + Free Shipping		02/21/11
	20% Off Online Price for Kids’ and Teen Books	A8T7C7M	02/21/11

No related posts.

Although there are a lot of popular Black Friday websites (check out my post from 2009 to see my favorites), I wanted to post some ads that I have found that I don’t think have gotten enough attention.

Black Friday Tips

1. Never Assume –  Although I’m a HUGE online shopper, last year there were several websites not prepared to handle the traffic generated by Black Friday.  Don’t assume the website will work, if there is something you really want, go in-person.
2. Store Hours – Check out that link for common stores and their shopping start times.  Know if the store if offering Thanksgiving hours, Thanksgiving online hours, Black Friday hours, and Black Friday online hours.  No two stores were created equally.
3. Research – Check out that inclusive link to the left!  Includes tons of stores and their Black Friday offers.  Know how much something is worth before you look at the discounted price.  It might not be a great deal after all.
4. Confident Purchases ONLY! – If there is something that you have second thoughts about buying, DON’T buy it.  If you don’t know if it’s really that good of a deal, don’t buy it!  You’ll be able to get great discounts again as soon as Christmas is over.  This is not your only chance…don’t sweat it.
5. Location, Location, Location – When planning my in-store purchases, I consider the demographic of the different store locations.  Is there going to be a bigger demand for the XBOX Kinetic at the Walmart off I-10 and 1604 or Fredericksburg, TX?  If there’s a huge deal you know is worth it, save purchase time by going to the less busy store, even if the drive’s a little longer.

Good luck and remember that there’s always post-Christmas sales!

Hot Destination Deals:

Southwest Vacations – offers “great prices for limited time” (Black Friday through Cyber Monday) and includes Las Vegas, Orlando, Los Angeles, Ski resorts, and more!

Southwest Air Fare – With prices starting at $59, one-way, purchase starting 11/23/10 through 11/29/10 for travel 01/04/11 through 03/09/11!  Check out the extensive list, here.

Starwood Resorts – Check out this massive hotel line’s Cyber Monday deals!

Broadway Across America – Ticket deals available too!  Check out a list of shows offered at discounted prices at a theater near you!

Educational Deals:

The Scholastic Store –  Take an extra 20% off w/ FREE shipping when you use “ssbf20” at checkout, now until 11/29/2010.  Enjoy up to 75% off!

the Houston Museum of Natural Science – Save $10 off $50, $25 off $100, and $50 off $200 purchases with this printable coupon.  Offer valid 11/26–11/28.

Retailers:

Vera Bradley –  Spend over $100 at this retailer and get a FREE holiday tote!  ($48 value!)

The Limited –  40% off EVERYTHING, in-store and online!  Don’t forget you’ll also get a FREE mini-bag w/ $75 purchase (also both online AND in-store!)

Haverty’s –  The first 50 get $50–$250 off certificates, sale starts at 8am so you’ll have time to hit a couple other stores first.

Crabtree & Evelyn – FREE shipping of orders over $25 with incredible lotions 50% off, buy one get 50% off site wide, 50% off select gifts and fragrances!

Smart Home – Ever want to completely automate your home?  Preheat your over w/ your cell phone?  Lights controlled by remote?  Take a look at their exclusive savings, NOW through the end of 11/26!

Golf Galaxy – Starts online Thursday, 11/25 at 12AM ET.  Save big on clubs, gear, and more!  $1.99 flat shipping rate!

Bed, Bath, & Beyond – Shop early and save 20% off your ENTIRE order, including clearance items!

Overstock.com – not only will you enjoy severely discounted items, you’ll save 10% off your entire purchase and enjoy $1 shipping!

Dining Deals:

Denny’s – Enjoy 20% off your entire ticket, the entire day at Denny’s!

No related posts.

As everyone is getting settled back in school, I found almost 40 printable coupons and online codes for your favorite stores and restaurants! Some of the deals don’t even expire until the end of the month, some well into the end of the year, one even until the middle of next year!

I’m going to try and post these at least once a month – let me know if there’s anything you liked to see make the list.

Retailer	Deal	Expires
	15% Off Your Order Coupon code: 34198641	10/05/10
	Aveda Men Pure-Formance Dual Action After Shave FREE Sample	12/31/10
	Arby’s – Free Jr Shake w/ Any Sandwich Purchase	9/21/10
	Ann Taylor- 25% Off “Already Reduced” Prices Coupon code: ENJOY25
	Advance Auto: Spend $100, Get $50 Back + free shipping	9/22/10
	Build-A-Bear: $10 off orders $50 or more Coupon code: 95309	10/31/10
	Burt’s Bees Natural Toothpaste $1 Off Coupon
	Borders: 20% off List Price Any One Item Coupon code: BEG93010X	9/30/10
	Ben & Jerry’s : Buy One Cup or Cone, Get One Free
	Barnes & Noble – 15% Off One Item (All Customers) Coupon code: K8F7F4C	9/26/10
	Bass Pro Shops – $20 off order of $100 or more Coupon code: savepc4	9/30/10
	Bath & Body Works: 20% off entire purchase Coupon code: F102455	10/10/10
	Crayola Store: $5 Off Any $25 Order + Free Shipping Coupon code: CRAFALL10	9/30/10
	Coinstar: FREE $10 iTunes Card when You Cash In $40 or more on an iTunes Certificate	9/30/10
	Express – $25 Off $50 Or $50 Off $150 Or More	9/30/10
	Gymboree – 20% Off Entire Order (Printable Coupon)	9/26/10
	Gap: 20% Off Entire Order w/ VISA card (Gap.com) Coupon code: VISAWEB20	9/30/10
	GameStop.com : $20 off $100 purchase Coupon code: 20DOWN	9/30/10
	Hallmark: 25% Off Paper Cards and Party Products Coupon code: PARTY25	9/30/10
	Hobby Lobby: 40% off one regular priced item (online and in store) Coupon code: 5082	9/18/10
	Jessica Simpson: 20% off on Any 2 Items, 30% Off Any 3 Coupon code: 2OR3	9/26/10
	Get $5.00 off a Jiffy Lube Signature Service Oil Change
	Joann: 40% Off the Regular Price of 1 Item (online) (Joann) Coupon code: AE288	10/15/10
	Leap Frog – 15% off $50 Coupon code: COUPON15	10/31/10
	Lord & Taylor Signature Sale – Save an Extra 20% Off Coupon code: SALE	9/27/10
	Lowe’s: Various Printable Coupons for Household Cleaning Products
	Oriental Trading Co- $5 Off $20 +, $10 Off $40 +, $20 Off $75 + Purchase Coupon code: ACSEP10	9/30/10
	Office Depot : $20 off $100 purchase Coupon code: 73039011	9/30/10
	Planet Hollywood – $10 Off $20 (Printable Coupon)	12/31/10
	Quiznos: $1 off a regular or $2 off a large sub + 1 catering printable coupons	10/1/10
	RedBox: Free DVD Rental w/ Kiosk Code Coupon code: DVDONME
	Ralph Lauren: Extra 10% Off Coupon Coupon code: BZR29369
	Restaurant.com : 80% off Gift Certificates (Restaurant.com) Coupon code: REDPLUM
	Children’s Place: 10% off any purchase online (The Children’s Place) Coupon code: WA78	5/31/11
	The Container Store- 25% Off Annual Shelving Sale	10/17/10
	Urban Outfitters: 10% off your entire purchase Coupon code: CLASSACT	9/30/10
	White House Black Market – Take $20 Off Any Purchase of $100 or More (White House Black Market) Coupon code: 9175	10/2/10
	Yankee Candle: $10 off $25 Purchase (Online & In-Store) (Yankee Candle) Coupon code: PHKKYR5	10/2/10

No related posts.

Find your favorite retailers on Twitter! Follow their tweets for contests, promotional offers, great deals, and coupons! Get even more connected to the company! Contact their customer service department if you got less than stellar service! Here are the ones I follow, for the most updated retailers following my own retailers list on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/geekettebits/retail

and of course my tweets here:

http://twitter.com/geekettebits where I post a lot of coupons and deals I find!

Over 250 retailers including clothing, book stores, hardware, techie, automobiles and more!

No related posts.

Almost 50 retailers and restaurants are listed  below with printable coupons, online promotional codes, and other sales for Mother’s Day this year!  Make this year memorable by finding affordable gifts for the special women in your life!  (Or finally treat yourself to something special, without the guilt!)  Use the discounts to buy books to read with your children (or for yourself), buy some special new clothes, finally get those pictures developed, and much more!

Some coupons don’t expire for several months and some expire today!  Hurry and find what coupons your looking for!

No related posts.