Get a Sneak Preview of Holiday Bargains

Hurry up -- grab your coat and car keys! There's no time to waste if you want to score a bona-fide, brag-worthy holiday bargain.

Sound familiar? It should. Before the Halloween candy has even been consumed -- and even before the sales circulars are printed, rumors fly about the big post-Thanksgiving holiday deals stores will trumpet to woo throngs of bargain shoppers out on Black Friday (so-named for the point when stores' balances sheets turn from red to profitable black).

This annual performance is nearly as predictable as the plot line of "It's a Wonderful Life." For those who haven't caught the re-run, allow me to screen the highlights:

• Act I: The setup: A handful of websites -- BlackFridayAds.com, bfads.net, and Gottadeal.com, to name a few -- hype stores' marketing schedules by posting anticipated deals at holiday hot spots like Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, Best Buy, and Circuit City before the ads appear in newsprint or on the stores' websites.
• Act II: The conflict: Website operators get a curt warning from retailers who cry foul and tsk-tsk them for underhandedly getting advance copies of their sales circulars and posting them for all the deal-hungry world to see.
• Act III: The world catches wind (insert cameos by noteworthy newscasters): Journalists scrambling for a scoop blare "Want to score a major deal on [fill-in-the-blank with the hot holiday item du jour]? Tune in tonight and only [insert channel's call letters] will show you where to snag it!! Our exclusive [if you have never been on the Internet] scoop at six!!" Meanwhile, the websites rack up clicks and continue to update the sales pitches all season long.
• Act IV: A peek at the inside story (cue mood lighting, cigar smoke, and frenzied activity on the Wall Street trading floor): In the shadowy boardroom of an unidentified big-box retailer, back slapping and "Atta boys!" ensue. Despite their ads getting trumped by some kid with a little HTML know-how and a modem, stores know there's nothing like free advance advertising and -- bonus! -- a preview of their competitor's holiday strategy.
• Roll credits: Over the angelic strains of "Silent Night," the season's blockbuster deals slowly scroll over a montage of frenzied shoppers elbowing old ladies, toddlers, and stray kittens to get to the goods.

I won't bore you with the details of the predictable sequel, "Look Who Regrets Shopping II." Though you might want to bookmark this holiday hangover cure for future reference.

Score holiday deals … stat!

You can see how easy it is to be swept up in the holiday shopping hype machine. Limited availability of the best buys can drive even the most rational shoppers to pitch a tent in the retailer's parking lot before Black Friday's opening hours (and try to score a moment of fame on the local news).

Don't be that guy (or gal). Sanity -- not frenzy -- is the way to go in this war for your wallet. And that doesn't mean missing out on bona-fide Black Friday bargains, either.

One simple trick may be all it takes to bring sanity back to the holidays. Read on.

Get a jump on the competition

If you're willing to do your homework, you can beat the swarms of shoppers and sleep in the day after Thanksgiving.

• First, identify your most-coveted item that will go on sale: Keep checking the store website and the Black Friday deal preview sites mentioned above.
• Buy it before it's a steal: Before the official sale starts, make your way to the store and pick it up at the current, pre-sale price.
• Ask for a refund on what you overpaid: On the day of the sale, make your way back to the store and request a price adjustment for the difference.
• One last thing -- and this is key: Be sure to carefully study the stores' holiday return policies before you buy. In recent years, retailers have become much stricter with returns, exchanges, and adjustments around the holidays.

So do your homework, be kind to frazzled sales clerks, find a really good hiding place for your shopping winnings, and let yourself sleep in while the herd of bargain hunters tries to score the deal you've already snagged.

Motley Fool personal finance expert Dayana Yochim shops year-round for bargains on everything from insurance, automobiles, estate plans, and bank accounts -- and shares her bounty over at GreenLight.Fool.com. On Black Friday, however, she plans to sleep until at least noon.