Caught up in Black Friday

It's took 3 days to recuperate from my Black Friday shopping. Black Fridays are so out of control, it's total madness. A madness that's easy to get caught in.

At 10 PM on Thanksgiving Day, my Black Friday shopping started at WalMart. I took my mother to get just a couple things and some half priced DVD's. At the Salem WalMart a 6-year-old girl was stepped on by several people grabbing color printers. And I personally got in a little tiff with a clerk. She was trying to direct traffic so people would walk on the right. Problem was there was a blockage on the right, so I had to go left. She kept stepping in front of me as I tried to side-step around her. She didn't listen when I explained the blockage on other side prevented passage. In irritation, I finally darted around her. Later that night I laid in bed asking myself what on earth I was thinking—totally embarrassed. Even if I had to walk to a different aisle, I should have. In the picture below, at least those people are staying behind the guards holding them back.

Fortunately, the WalMart excursion was the worst experience of the whole night. I saved about $10 whole dollars at WalMart, but I wasn't there for me. I needed to take my mom.

After WalMart, we went to Macy's, they opened at Midnight. It wasn't that crowded and they weren't out of things in seconds. Macy's was fun at Midnight and there I saved $270. Totally worth it!!!!

Next I took mom to Old Navy and Target. She needed a few more items. We arrived home around 2:45 AM. Fully dressed, I climbed in my spare bed and set the alarm for 5 AM. Problem was, I couldn't go to sleep. My mind was so wound up (probably still fretting about my tiff with a WalMart clerk.) I think I fell asleep around 3:30 or 4 AM.

At the sound of the 5 AM alarm, I jumped up and slipped on my shoes, brushed my teeth and hair, and was out the door by 5:10 for Bi-Mart. They had some name brand kitchen appliances on sale 50% off, but there were no crowds. Yeah! I saved around $35 there. My Black Friday shopping ended at Fred Meyer, where I saved approximately $70.

At 6:30 AM, I arrived home, washed off the make up, put on my jammies and went to bed. I slept until 11:00 AM. It took two nights to get back into my normal sleeping pattern.

I'd like to say Black Friday is just not worth it, but saving about $375 is pretty darn good. I just wish all the stores would not try to out do each other and keep opening earlier and earlier. It really is madness. And if you wait to go during normal hours, the limited supply is gone. Many items were already snatched up in seconds when we went to WalMart at 10:00 PM.

I wonder what the stores are going to come up with next year to out do each other. It really is crazy!