Can you believe it? There are only 3 short weeks before Black Friday and if you haven't already noticed, there are Pre-Black Friday sales taking place in more stores than ever before. In a season where shopping is just another part of the holiday activities, it is important to stay on track of your budget and avoid overspending. Believe it or not, retailers are well aware of shoppers patterns and habits. They not only hire outsider companies to track consumers shopping habits, but retailers also rely on the psychological research that has been provided through studies on how various types of consumers shop. With that said, stores are arranged in a way that is most appealing to you, the consumer. Another interesting fact? The studies conducted on shoppers have found that when people enter a store, they are most likely to start their browsing on the right side of the store. Retailers are familiar with this pattern. They make sure to take advantage by putting all the tempting and hot new trends right there in the front right side of the store. You may even find that the music is louder and the lights are brighter in that area too, all to help attract you over even if you are not a "right-oriented" shopper. Onto another shopping topic, have you ever noticed that most of the clearance items in stores are all the way in the back? That of course, is also purposeful. To get to the clearance that you specifically came in to browse, you'll have to pass all the latest trends, sales and promotional items along the way. Retailers hope you either get sidetracked and end up not even reaching the clearance or that you pick up a few other things along the way.    While speaking of clearance, take note that usually the sizes are all jumbled together and in general, the entire section is never really well organized. Well guess what?  These poor displays are in fact, purposeful.  Retailers create this frustrating poorly organized section in hopes that they can lure you over to the neatly organized full price merchandise that is hung ever so precise. And lastly, stay clear of impulse items, which are the little things around the registers that just scream, "Buy me, I am not that expensive!" But after a few impulse item purchases, you'll realize, those little things add up! Just remember what you went into the store for and resist from indulging in these little trinkets stores like to call ad-ons. So what is a shopper to do with all these tempting displays and perfectly arranged stores? Here are a few tips I found helpful when shopping:  

• Always go shopping prepared. Make a list of what you intended to buy and stick with that. 

  

 

• Avoid impulse items around the registers. If you feel like you just need to have something not on your list, ask yourself if it is really necessary.

   

• If you are heading into a store to check out the clearance, hit the clearance racks first. That way, when you do go to look at the full price merchandise after checking out the markdowns, you will have a frame of reference, knowing what is a good deal and what isn't.

  

 

• Make sure to give yourself plenty of time. Shopping while in a rush will lead to making rash decisions. Also you want to have the time to be able to dig through all the unorganized clearance goodies, right?

  

 

• Pay with cash and make a budget. You are less likely to make impulse purposes paying with cash and if you only have so much of it, you will be sure to spend it more wisely. When you have spent all your cash, that  means it is time to stop shopping.

  

So tell us, what are your secrets for surviving holiday shopping?