If you’re headed out today for Black Friday, we wish you good parking karma, a safe place in line and an armful of the door busters you want to snag.  And if you’re shopping on your PC, we hope your computer skills take you swiftly from “add to cart” to checkout before the deal expires.

According to a recent study by The Nielsen Company, here is your competition:  Nearly one in five Americans will shop Black Friday—the unofficial opening of the Christmas buying season.  And more than half of them plan to spend between $100 and $500.  A survey for the National Retail Federation predicts up to 138 million Black Friday weekend shoppers.

Everyone, it seems, has ideas on how to game the sales.  The Boston Globe, for example, offers 10 tips to shoppers before they head for the mall, the supercenter or go online. Others recommend the buddy system or offer tips for the “full contact sport.”  Use your favorite search engine and you’ll find news articles and blogs about how to get the best buys, what to be on guard for, how the shopping starts early this year and how to securely do your online shopping.

We hope you will find these resources helpful.  Enjoy the day and have fun with the sales – the holiday season is in full swing!