Black Friday.....

Here it is, that time again, where we over indulge on not only food, but other things.  Black Friday used to be a traditional time to plan your "attack route" the days before, grab a couple of girlfriends to be line holders, and attempt to score the very best deals out there for Christmas.  The stores used to open around 5 am, giving you ample time to sleep off the gluttony of the night before, and then try to get the strongest coffee you could get your hands on before standing in line.  Now, stores are open earlier and earlier, with some of them not even closing on Thanksgiving day anymore.  Being a single mother, money is always at a minimum.  We are constantly looking for ways to save money, cutting coupons, bartering, doing online surveys, finding focus groups...you name it.  This year, however, there really wasn't any "one big thing" that would sway me out of my warm bed....standing in line behind hundreds of other hopefuls, trying to get the coveted item.  At midnight, in 35 degree weather, I passed lines upon lines of people, standing and waiting for the stores to open, just wishing for a chance to get that "xbox bundle", or the "flat screen tv", or whatever else they were looking for.  I guess that my time, and the time I spend sleeping nowadays, is more valuable to me than saving a hundred dollars on a tv.  Now, I'm not saying that some of the material items wouldn't be nice; but doggone it, 8 hours of sleep when I work 45 hours a week might just win out.  I did, however, score some online deals with free shipping, and some of the later in the day steals.....

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