BLACK Friday has undoubtedly become the biggest shopping day of the year - over £3bn was spent over the weekend last year.

If you’re planning on joining in, it’s important you know your rights in case you need to return goods or your items don’t turn up.

We've teamed up with money.co.uk editor in chief Hannah Maundrell to give you some top tips to bagging the best bargains and ways to pay this Black Friday - November 25.

First, says Hannah, make yourself a pre-Black Friday checklist:

• Who do I need to buy for?

• What do I need to get?

• How much can I realistically afford to spend?

• Sign up to newsletters of shops you like • Bookmark favourite retailers This will help you to feel more prepared. Sometimes it’s all about speed - sites like Amazon will offer certain deals for a limited part of the day.

Don’t let this fool you into thinking you need to buy it quickly, if it isn’t on your list, it shouldn’t go in your basket.

Making the most of your money:

Budgeting is key - decide how much you’re willing to spend and don’t go a penny over.

If you’re shopping online paying with online accounts like Paypal mean it can be hard to keep on top of how much you’re spending. Write down what you’ve spent and keep a running total so you know what you’ve got left.

If you’re paying on credit card using a 0% deal can help to spread the cost over a longer period without paying interest.

When you’re buying presents in store, ask for gift receipts. If the person you’re buying for doesn’t like it or it doesn’t fit, they can normally take the item back and exchange it or get store credit.

Black Friday in Wiltshire:

We’re pretty spoilt for choice on shopping locations in Wiltshire. With shopping centres in Swindon, Salisbury and Chippenham plus many other great high streets to choose from if you do choose to brave the cold you won't be disappointed.

Remember to show some love to the independent shops on Small Business Saturday too. There are lots of smaller boutique retailers everywhere from Marlborough to Tisbury that will be offering discounts and offers over the weekend. Remember to take your bag for life with you - every penny counts.

Shopping online vs in store:

Shopping online means you can hunt for discount codes and other flash sales throughout the day on Black Friday. Getting your bargains online also helps if you’re not 100% sure you’re going to keep it. This is because refund policies are different online and by law give you much more flexibility than in stores. Make sure you know your rights before you buy.

If the item you’re buying is over £100 paying on credit card will give you Section 75 Protection. This means your credit card provider will help you get your money back so you won’t be out of pocket if something goes wrong with your order.

If you shop instore try to compare prices elsewhere, this is easier online and can get you a better deal.

For electrical goods, if two shops are the same price go for the one with a longer warranty.

Tips for the day:

• Check cashback sites like Quidco and TopCashback before you checkout to see if you can make further savings.

• Check your emails frequently to see if you’ve been sent any discounts for being a loyal customer.

• Use voucher code sites for free delivery or other freebies with your orders. If they aren’t offering free delivery see if they do click and collect, if there’s a shop nearby you could save a small fortune on postage.

• Shop around, especially for electrical items, the first saving you see might not always be the greatest.

• Shops may change their opening hours especially for the day, with some opening as early as 6am. But if you’re super savvy get online because many offers come online from midnight.