Martin says it's not a saving if you weren't going to buy it anyway
If you've been waiting all month for Black Friday to arrive, you might have spent a large part of the day scouring the internet or the high street for deals. However Black Friday shoppers would be advised to be wary as not all offers are as good as they seem at first.
Despite many retailers stressing the urgency of shopping Black Friday sale prices, they are not always even the cheapest that an item will be over the course of the year.
Some shops do have guarantees in place to say that a price is the lowest it will be until Christmas, and others offer to pay the difference if you find cheaper.
However often it is the case that a sale price will be no better than offers seen throughout the year.
What's more, with the endless supply of marketing tactics being fired at us, it can be all to easy to make impulse purchases therefore we might end up spending far more than we otherwise would have - ironic considering many shoppers consider Black Friday to be financial win.
To help shoppers steer clear of some of these Black Friday fails, Money Saving Expert's Martin Lewis has put together some handy tips on how to find genuine savings and avoid unnecessary buys.
Instead of being lured in by a sale price immeadiately, MSE advises shopping around to check you are really getting the lowest price.
This can be done by checking sites such as Google Shopping or Pricerunner to see prices across retailers.
To avoid falling for Black Friday hype, it's important to know that many low prices aren't as rare as you might be led to believe.
MSE advises using tools such as CamelCamelCamel (for Amazon prices) and PriceSpy to see if the Black Friday 'deal' is genuinely cheaper than its price throughout the year.
MSE also points out that retailers often advertise discounts against old Recommended Retail Prices (RRP) which can make the reduction seem better than it is.
MSE says: "These encourage impulse buying. Look for across-store discounts on a wide range of products, as these are more likely to cover items already on your list."
Black Friday sales can be a good time to shop if you're after a specific brand, but you don't need to be limited to that brand's website,
You might find the deal you're after somewhere less expected and it's worth checking department stores.
Many supermarkets are also holding Black Friday sales which include big brands such as Lidl and Asda.
As a rule of thumb, Martin says: "Don't get caught up in the hype. Before spending, ask yourself, do I need it? Can I afford it? If the answer's no to either, don't buy it. Remember, it's not a saving if you weren't going to buy it anyway."