What's the Deal: Holiday shopping tips to save you money beyond Black Friday

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- It's that time of year where we are making our lists and checking them twice, and who doesn't love saving money on holiday shopping?

There's so many presents to buy and so little time. But buyer beware: Only rookies head out unprepared. We have some holiday shopping tips to get you through Black Friday and beyond.

Let's be honest, the sounds of the holidays can cause stress because buying presents can be time-consuming and expensive.

Beware of regular prices wrapped up to look like fantastic bargains.

"Do your homework. There's lots of websites out there that can help you figure out what is on sale and when. Things like Black Friday.com, even Consumer Reports. We can tell you updates on what stores are having sales," said Octavio Blanco of Consumer Reports.

And there's an app for that.

"Apps like Shopzilla, Google Shopping, PriceGrabber, these are all sites in which you can see what prices being offered in the store and compare it with prices in other stores," said Blanco.

And don't forget to get social.

"If you like a particular brand or a particular retailer, make sure that you are following them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. These are all channels in which they are going to be advertising their latest sales," said Blanco.

Finally, create a budget and stick to it. Yes, this sounds simple but big sales and doorbuster specials, are designed to get you into the store or shopping online so they can sell you all those other items you weren't intending to buy.

CR said when you do find an online deal, put it in your cart immediately. You typically have 15 minutes to check out so you can compare prices elsewhere before you complete your purchase.