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PAGE 6A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 26. 2020
How to prepare for Black Friday
Black Friday devotees
know that the day after
Thanksgiving is a day for
deals. While some shoppers
may associate Black Friday
with midnight openings or
crowded stores, many retail
ers have gone to great lengths
to make Black Friday shop
ping safer and more cus
tomer-friendly.
Shoppers who want to
land the best Black Friday
deals need not camp outside
their favorite stores on
Thanksgiving night. Often
times, landing the best deals
just takes a little preparation
and due diligence on the part
of shoppers.
• Peruse Black Friday ads in
newspapers in advance of the
big day. Many retailers begin
advertising their Black Fri
day deals well in advance of
Thanksgiving. Shoppers who
know which stores they want
to visit on Black Friday
should begin looking for
those stores’ fliers in early
November, and continue to
do so as Black Friday draws
closer. This gives shoppers a
chance to plan their Black
Friday shopping so they can
visit stores with the most en
ticing or time-sensitive deals
first.
• Create a list and make shop
ping a team effort. Once re
tailers have announced the
details of their Black Friday
sales, shoppers can make a
list of items they hope to pur
chase. When shopping, don’t
go it alone. Instead, team up
with a spouse, neighbor or
older children who can then
be given certain items to find
in the store once doors open.
• Bring snacks or plan to
visit one of the great local
restaurants. Shoppers should
bring healthy snacks along so
they get an energy boost and
don’t succumb to hunger
while waiting in line.
• Download retailer apps.
Many retailers now have
their own smartphone apps,
which may or may not adver
tise Black Friday deals.
Download such apps so you
can stay up-to-date on the lat
est deals. Some retailers may
even match their competitors’
app-advertised deals.
• Bring an envelope for re
ceipts. Many Black Friday
deals include discounts that
are offered via mail-in re
bates. These rebates typically
require consumers mail their
receipts to a retailer or man
ufacturer listed on the receipt.
Shoppers can avoid losing
out on rebate-based savings
by bringing along an enve
lope for their receipts.
The benefits to shopping on Black Friday
Black Friday is a holiday
season phenomenon that en
tices shoppers out of their
homes, sometimes in the wee
hours of the morning. Many
stores begin their Black Fri
day promotions on Thanks
giving night, while others
may wait until midnight to
open their doors to deal-hun
gry holiday shoppers.
Thanks to the crowds,
some shoppers may be intim
idated by Black Friday and
opt to avoid stores entirely on
the day after Thanksgiving.
But there are a host of bene
fits to shopping on Black Fri
day that can compel hesitant
shoppers to join the festive
fray.
• Deals: Black Friday is a
consumer-friendly day on
which savvy shoppers can
find great deals on big-ticket
items. Big-ticket items like
electronics, including televi
sions, smartphones and
tablets, are often heavily dis
counted on Black Friday.
Such deals may only be for a
certain period of time or until
a predetermined amount of
inventory has been sold, so
shoppers should do their re
search and prioritize which
items are most important to
them in advance of Black
Friday. While Black Friday
occurs during the holiday
season when many people
are busy looking for gifts for
their loved ones, shoppers
who need new big-ticket
items can save money by
shopping for themselves as
well as their friends and fam
ily members in the initial
hours after Thanksgiving.
• Shopping done early: Shop
pers who tend to procrasti
nate during the holiday
shopping season may find
that shopping on Black Fri
day increases the chance
they’ll get their shopping
done early. Getting shopping
done early leaves more time
to celebrate with family and
friends throughout Decem
ber.
• Giveaways: Many stores
offer giveaways to Black Fri
day shoppers. Such give
aways may include gift cards,
free entries into raffles or
totes bags full of goodies.
Such giveaways make great
stocking stuffers, enabling
Black Friday shoppers to get
some shopping done without
spending a dime.
• Budget-friendly: Budget
conscious holiday shoppers
may find that Black Friday
allows them to give great
gifts without compromising
their personal finances. In its
second annual holiday debt
survey, MagnifyMoney
found that consumers who
took on debt during the 2016
holiday season were poised
to begin the new year with an
average of $1,003 worth of
new debt. Shopping on Black
Friday might help many
shoppers reduce the amount
of debt they take on during
the holiday season.
The many advantages
to shopping locally
Residents of a given
town or city are often en
couraged to support local
businesses by looking to
these firms to fill their
needs. Small businesses are
not just integral parts of
communities, employing
millions across the country,
they also are operations that
fund the very communities
they service.
Efforts to promote shop
ping local appear to be
working. According to the
Commonwealth Financial
Group, over the last several
years there has been a shift
in consumer purchasing be
havior marked by a prefer
ence among consumers to
support locally owned
shops and stores over big-
box retailers and even on
line shopping.
The following are some
key reasons why shopping
locally not only benefits
small business owners, but
also the communities they
call home and the customers
they serve.
• More money stays in the
community: According to
the American Independent
Business Alliance, for every
$100 spent at a local busi
ness, $68 remains in the
community. Conversely,
only 43 percent of every
$100 spent at a chain re
tailer stays in the commu
nity.
nesses create the majority of
economic growth. They em
ploy millions of Americans
by creating roughly two-
thirds of private sector jobs.
Local business owners also
tend to hire people who rep
resent the demographics of
the communities where the
business is located, which
may include historically un
derserved populations.
• Diversity of products:
Local stores tend to diver
sify their products and serv
ices to meet the needs of the
local communities, whereas
chain stores often stock
their shelves based on na
tional demands.
• Personalized service: A
small business owner may
be more inclined to go to
great lengths to make cus
tomers happy because the
long-term success of the
business depends on cus
tomers becoming repeat
customers.
• Personal connection:
Knowing the people behind
a business facilitates a con
nection not easily achieved
with other companies. Cus
tomers may celebrate when
a favorite business succeeds
and look to spread the word
about that business because
they feel like they played a
positive role in its success.
• Job creation: The Business
Alliance for Local Living
Economies says local busi-
Important safety information from Atlanta Gas Light
Every day, underground pipelines safely
transport natural gas to homes and
businesses throughout the country. Atlanta
Gas Light operates, secures and maintains the
pipelines in our service territories.
Call before you dig
Before digging on your property, state law
requires you call 811 to have your utility lines
professionally marked - for free! You must
wait the required amount of time before
you begin your project. Pipeline markers
indicate the general area of the pipeline, but
not its exact location or depth. A pipeline
may not always be marked in all areas, so
it is important to always "Call Before You
Dig." If a pipeline right of way is adjacent to
your property, you have a responsibility to
ensure no new installations of landscaping or
physical structures are placed in the right of
way, which interferes with our ability to keep
the pipeline safe through routine monitoring
and maintenance.
Information about transmission
pipelines operating in your community
can be accessed online at
https://www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov,
courtesy of the National Pipeline Mapping
System (NPMS).
Water heater safety
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission urges all users to lower their
water heaters to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
Carbon monoxide
Incomplete combustion of any fuel produces
carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is
poisonous and has no odor, taste or color.
Carbon monoxide detectors are helpful, but
they are no substitute for using equipment
safely. This includes having your appliances
inspected once a year by a certified
contractor.
Appliance safety
According to the Federal Emergency
Management Agency:
• It is important that you have your furnace
inspected by a qualified specialist.
• Be sure all furnace controls and emergency
shut-offs are in proper working condition.
• Keep trash and other combustible materials
away from your air, heating and water
heating systems.
Pipeline integrity management is a process
for assessing and mitigating pipeline risks to
reduce both the likelihood and consequences
of incidents. We have a comprehensive
plan that fully addresses these processes,
especially for locations deemed high-
consequence areas.
To learn more, visit
atlantagaslight.com/
integritymanagementplan
If you smell gas, act fast!
Even though natural gas pipeline incidents are
uncommon, you can help prevent emergencies by
knowing the signs of a potential problem.
LOOK for blowing dirt, discolored vegetation or
continued bubbling of standing water.
LISTEN for a hissing or roaring noise near a natural
gas appliance or line.
SMELL the distinctive, rotten-egg odor associated
with natural gas. Natural gas is colorless and
odorless, so we add a chemical odorant called
mercaptan for easy detection. This odorant has a
distinctive "rotten-egg" type odor. You should act
any time you detect even a small amount of this
odor in the air.
If you suspect a natural gas leak, do the following:
DO NOT try to identify the source or to stop the
leak yourself.
LEAVE the area immediately and move a safe
distance away from the potential leak, while
avoiding any action that may cause sparks.
AVOID using any sources of ignition, such as
cellphones, cigarettes, matches, flashlights,
electronic devices, motorized vehicles, light
switches or landlines, as natural gas can ignite
from a spark or open flame, possibly causing a fire
or explosion. Natural gas is nontoxic, lighter than
air and displaces oxygen. In severe cases, if not
used properly, it can also lead to asphyxiation.
CALL Atlanta Gas Light at 877.427.4321 or 911 once
you are out of the area of the suspected leak
and in a safe place. Stay away until Atlanta Gas
Light or emergency personnel indicate it is safe to
return.
Note: Do not solely rely on sense of smell to
determine if a gas leak exists. Be aware that
some individuals may not be able to detect the
odorant because they have a diminished sense
of smell, olfactory fatigue or because the odor is
being masked by other odors in the area. Certain
conditions may cause the odorant to diminish so
that it is not detectable. Some gas lines, due to their
unique function, may not have odor at all.
For more information, visit
atlantagaslight.com/safety
or call 800.427.5463
Atlanta Gas Light
Online Survey: Please take a moment to complete an online survey about natural gas safety
and you at https://www.surveymonkey.eom/r/L6DTN69 to help us make sure we are
keeping our communities safe.
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