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• The Black Friday veteran

  Who: Candi Smoot, 38, of Charlotte.

  How: Smoot, a legal document analyst, considers herself the ultimate holiday budgeting champion within her circle of friends and family. She has shopped the day after Thanksgiving for years and is starting earlier than ever this year.

  She and four aunts plan on arriving at Wal-Mart at 3 a.m., wearing red shirts so they can easily find each other in crowds. They'll then head on to at least four other big-box stores and wrap up around lunchtime.

  Braving the busy shopping day can lead to major deals, Smoot says, especially on electronics - but only if you go with a game plan. To save the most money, she advises:

  Do your research. Map out where you want to go and what you want to buy, so you're prepared.

  Be willing to travel outside of your shopping comfort zone. You could be missing out on bargains on the other side of town.

  Partner up. Especially during the morning rush on Black Friday, it often takes two people to locate the deals.

  Ask questions. Even stores that don't promote price-matching will often gladly do so. "Stores are hurting so bad right now they will do just about anything to get the sale," she notes.

  Don't wait until the end of the season. You're more likely to overspend out of desperation.

  Stay calm. "It's only shopping," she says. "If it doesn't happen that day, just move on and see if you get it the next time. I've seen people get upset, and it's not that serious."

  As a single parent of three boys, Smoot says, it's important for her to live on a budget and spend wisely. To avoid overspending, she sets a $500 budget and uses only cash.

  "Once the cash is gone, I can do no more damage," she says. "You still have to live after Christmas, and if you spend too much you will be too busy worrying about how you're going to pay for everything instead of enjoying the true meaning of Christmas."

• The dollar store Christmas

  Who: Debra Efird (above with husband Ed) of Harrisburg.

  How: Efird, a school counselor, found it had become difficult to shop for her younger relatives. Most just wanted gift cards, which are expensive and require trips to many stores. So, with the economy in mind, she, her sister and sister-in-law decided last year to have a "dollar store" Christmas instead.

  Efird, her husband and daughter exchanged traditional gifts but gave each member of their extended family five items costing no more than $1. Both her sister's and sister-in-law's families, meanwhile, reciprocated. Each Efird received five $1 presents, wrapped separately and opened one at a time.

  Each person ended up with five gifts, and any type of item was acceptable, as long as it was $1 or less. Selections ranged from practical (a flashlight, a cloth shopping bag) to whimsical (a Christmas tie, a giant chocolate bar).

  The Efirds shopped at Dollar Tree, where they were "amazed by the variety and quality of items." They had fun selecting presents and figured that even if the recipient didn't like a gift, they'd only be out $1. It worked out so well, in fact, they're planning to do it again this year.

  The old way, Efird says, "took some of the joy out of going and selecting things. I just felt like we were all throwing money at stuff."

  The dollar Christmas, conversely, relieved stress and made for one-stop shopping. "Instead of spending around $250 on items our extended family members probably didn't want or need and worrying how to please picky teenagers," Efird says, "we spent $40 and had a blast doing it."

• A thrift store Christmas

  Who: Pat Meech, 55, of Stanfield, about 30 miles east of Charlotte. She's shown above with her daughter, Laurie Maddex.

  How: Last Christmas, Meech and her husband had a house in Florida they could not sell or rent and a son in college. Their overtime hours had been cut. So Meech, a medical technologist, suggested a "thrift store" Christmas, where all gifts had to be previously used or personalservice coupons.

  Meech and her immediate family all participated; they'd stopped exchanging gifts with extended family the year before.

  Meech's son found a 4-foot-tall stuffed teddy bear for $7, for his sister's kids. He also gave her a coupon good for a night of babysitting. She made cookies. Meech found used books at a Monroe store, and puzzles, games and sweaters at stores such as the Salvation Army. She loved browsing consignment shops for jewelry.

  The resulting family gift exchange saved money, relieved stress and still led to delight, Meech says. She estimates she'd spent about $600 a year on Christmas in the past. The thrift-store version cost $100.

  "I felt so much better knowing that we didn't overtax our tight budget and still had a great holiday," she says. "It just takes a little thought and creativity."

  The theme worked so well that she plans on proposing it again this year. She'd recommend it to others, as long as they aren't "consumed with consumption."

  She does, however, have one piece of advice if you opt to follow in her footsteps: "I'm pretty sure you'd better tell people what you're up to, because I know a lot of people would just get really insulted by a used gift," she says. "Just make sure everyone's on the same page."

• The online deal-hunter

  Who: Chris Jones, 46, of Harrisburg.

  How: Jones, a corporate chef, engages in heavy-duty online research to score big bargains while avoiding crowded stores. To get an early peek at retailers' after-Thanksgiving specials, he scours Web sites such as bfads.net. But, he notes, there are good deals beyond Black Friday, too: "It just comes from staying on it and checking sites."

  The Web, he says, is an invaluable comparison-shopping tool: To get a sense of the price range for a particular product, simply search for it. He also likes the Web site techbargains.com, which will send you an e-mail when it finds an item at the price you want, and the discussion forums on FatWallet.com.

  "Instead of standing in line for three hours, I want to make sure it's worth it," Jones says. "I don't want to decide on impulse. I've got a month to figure out what I'm going to do. It's fun and challenging to find what price I can beat myself on."

  If he sees that a product he likes is going to be on sale, especially a bigger-ticket item, he may visit a store to check it out. But he'll order it online if it's the same price and it means he can beat the crowds. This year, he says, a TV and a Wii game console are on his list.

  But he's learned lessons since becoming more serious about deal-hunting three years ago.

  Last year, he ordered a $999 washer-dryer pair through a large retailer's Black Friday deal. After a month of e-mails, the company told him they could deliver the set in March. Jones said no - and went to another large appliance retailer and asked for the same deal. The retailer matched the price on a similar set.

  His advice: Especially with online purchases, hold onto your records. Without them, he said, the store would never have matched the price.