If you are new to shopping on a budget, the holiday season can be pretty stressful.

But if you really do need to save money, you need to throw out the stereotypes of when it’s socially acceptable to shop for Christmas. Black Friday is not your only option for getting good deals or the required date to “start Christmas shopping”.

In fact, my grandmother often started shopping for gifts for the following Christmas during the after-Christmas clearance sales at her favorite department store. She had to get by with limited funds for many years, so she was always looking to get the best deals for her money even when she could spend a little more.

Here are the sales fliers from my home-delivery edition of The Monroe Evening News today:

Grocery and drugstores

• Walgreens has milk at $2.49 a gallon. There’s a coupon in the flier for $4 off selected toys. Skippy peanut butter and Welch’s grape jelly are two for $3 with coupon from flier. Selected gloves, mittens and hats two for $3. Huggies diapers on sale.
• GFS Marketplace has a $5 coupon off $50 purchase in its flier. Holiday items include sweet potato, pecan or pumpkin pie at $4.99; three pounds of sliced bacon for $6.99; whole hen turkey at 59 cents a pound with minimum $15 purchase; selected cheesecake at $9.99 limit two.
• Aldi has milk at $1.99 a gallon. Butterball whole turkey at 99 cents a pound; fresh whole turkey will be available Nov. 19 at a cost of $1.39 a pound. Celery at 89 cents a stalk, sweet potatoes at 89 cents for three-pound bag, minature marshmallows at 79 cents a bag.
• Meijer has milk at two gallons for $5. Turkey specials include $9 off Grade A hen turkeys or $15 off Grade A Tom turkeys with additional $20 purchase. Del Monte canned vegetables at six for $3. Dole pineapple or mandarin oranges at 99 cents a can. Kraft singles at two packages for $6.
• CVS Pharmacy has buy one get one free specials including Russell Stover chocolates, holiday gift wrap, Revlon lip or nail color, Ajax dish soap and Maxwell House coffee. Both Pampers and CVS diapers are on sale. Glade scents has an Extra Care Bucks offer, check your coupon box for additional savings.
• Kroger (sale starts Monday) will have a 10 for $10 sale that includes Green Giant vegetables, Stove Top stuffing, Duncan Heinz cake mix, Dole fruit select varieties, Libby’s pumpkin. Riverside turkey is 59 cents a pound with card and additional $10 purchase. Oranges are $2.98 for a four-pound bag.

Department and specialty stores

• RexTV has a 15 inch LCD HDTV for $299. There are specials on DVD players, combos and recorders.
• Durocher’s has a Brand Source flier with deals on kitchen and laundry appliances.
• Dick’s Sporting Goods has all fleece on sale including a variety of jackets. Hunting gear in the flier includes an air mattress, lighted camo hat and a gun safe.
• Elder-Beerman has a sale today and Monday with 33 percent off all KitchenAid and Cuisinart small electrics. Men’s sportcoats and suits are 50 percent off. Girls and boy’s dresswear is also on sale.
• Toys R Us has buy one get one $20 off all Wii games priced $29.99 or more. Coupon in flier for gift card with $75 purchase now through Nov. 22. Several buy this, get that free deals including a Dora or Diego Mega Blok set.
• Big Lots has a variety of pre-lit trees starting at $40 for the tall trees. Holiday vinyl tablecloths are two for $5. Rustler and Riders jeans are on sale. Closeout pricing on assorted hand tools.
• Dunham’s Sports has its “pre-Black Friday sale” flier this week with a reversible work to hunt jacket for $49.99 and a propane smoker for $189.99.
• Kohl’s has two-day specials on a variety of toys today and Monday including 40 percent off most Fisher-Price and Playskool items. Most winter boots for the family will be 50 to 60 percent off today and Monday. Holiday bath collections are 40 percent off.
• Target has “our lowest prices ever” on selected video games. Holiday storage tubs are $7.88 each. Folding chairs are $15, folding table is $25. Kids blanket sleepers on sale. Infant and toddler boy’s three piece suit at $19.99.
• Kmart has LED lights at $5.99 a string for 50 count or $9.99 a string for 70-count. Russell Stover candy at $3.99 a box. Martha Stewart fabric tree skirts at $14.99. 18-count boxed cards at $1.99 each. 40 percent off selected bakeware. (Now, if you shop at the Super Kmarts out of town, look at the flier in the Detroit Free Press for a grocery coupon.)
• Menards has a turkey fryer advertised at $39.89. Folding chairs at $7.98. Selected Pittsburgh interior paint on sale.
• Meijer has selected Barbie dolls at $3. Classic board games such as Life and Sorry are $11 each. All winter boots for the family on sale. Assorted gloves for children $1.99. Christmas storage totes $4.99 each.
• Best Buy has a $15 gift card when you buy selected video games. Several cameras and GPS devices are on sale.
• Sears has “Black Friday Prices Now” on Guitar Hero World Tour guitar bundle for Wii. All family fleece 50 percent off. All luggage 50 percent off. All game tables are on sale.