Black Friday offers exceptional discounts

After the turkey is gobbled up and the food coma has passed, millions of Americans will wake up the day after Thanksgiving extra early to start shopping and save money.

For this year’s Black Friday, sales look better than ever with stores opening earlier than in years past. With a college budget, it’s the perfect day to save big and get great gifts for yourself and those you love.

Granted, parking can be a nightmare and long lines can scare you away. Plus, Cyber Monday brings plenty of temptations to shoppers including free shipping and reduced prices. You can even shop on television these days as QVC celebrates Black Friday during dinner time.

Nonetheless, the deals you can find in stores are absolutely worth the craziness. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the available deals this Black Friday that might leave you pulling an all-nighter.

Apartment/Dorm Room Essentials

Walmart, which opens at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving day, has a wide variety of items perfect for student housing. A Bissell 3-in-1 vacuum costs $8.50. For $3, you can choose between a waffle maker and a mini chopper for the kitchen. Bath towels are less than $1. Finally, a microfiber sheet set is priced at $7.

Macy’s department stores will open doors at midnight, providing a wide variety of gadgets and items for the college home. There will be hundreds of early bird specials to choose from including a brownie, donut, quesadilla or smiley face pancake maker for $9 each. Plus, you can get $10 off a purchase of $25 or more if you bring a coupon from the newspaper ad delivered on Thanksgiving day.

Electronics

Known for having customers line up days in advance, Best Buy opens at midnight with huge electronic deals. The sought-after item that will likely grab people’s attention is the Sharp 42-inch LCD 1080p HDTV priced at less than $200. If you want it, it might be smart to get to your local store days in advance; there’s a minimum of just 10 available per store.

For those who will be waiting in line for other items such as 99 cent DVDs including Bruno, Rocky Balboa and Casino Royale, select Best Buy stores will have an outdoor screening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 hours before the store opens.

For gaming fans, Target has Xbox 360s advertised for $140 when the stores also open their doors at midnight. If game systems aren’t on your list, select iTunes gift cards valued at $25 will be sold for $20.

Finally, Walmart stores open their doors even earlier at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving day. Their electronic deals, however, begin two hours later at midnight. For starting photographers, the Kodak 14 megapixels digital camera is less than $50. Plus, everyone’s favorite classic DVDs including Bride Wars, Bourne Ultimatum, 300, He’s Just Not That Into You and others are on sale for less than $2.

Clothes

Clothing stores are doing all they can to get consumers in their doors first with some of the greatest deals for shoppers.

Old Navy is opening doors at midnight with $15 jeans for adults and $5 graphic tees for everyone in the family. Plus, you’ll score a free Kodak Easy Share waterproof digital camera valued at more than $100 if you spend $40 or more. There is always a catch; the sale is only while supplies last and Old Navy shoppers love their promotions so they will go fast.

If you will be traveling to the local mall, H&M is giving a scratch-off card valued up to $300 to the first 100 customers in line for its 5 a.m. opening. It will also promote fashion finds including dresses and sweaters for as low as $5.

While you are browsing around, stop by Express, which has everything 40 percent off until noon on Black Friday as well as all of Thanksgiving day.

Finally, for the first time ever, Kohl’s will award card members $15 in “Kohl’s cash” for every $50 they spend. With handbags and wallets 50 to 60 percent off, Lauren Conrad and Elle collections 40 to 50 percent off and hundreds of other early-bird specials midnight to 1 p.m., shoppers will have no problem opening up their wallets.

For best results, make sure to have a game plan when starting your Black Friday adventure. Study your ads Thanksgiving day and come Friday morning, you will be amazed at how much you accomplished off your list and most importantly, how much you saved.