As you know some of the holiday’s biggest shopping days are almost here. They are:

* Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, a day when traditionally retailers’ profits finally went into the “black” (from the red) because so many people came out to shop.

* Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving when most people return to work–and log on to do the lion’s share of their online shopping. It’s the Black Friday (or Monday) of the cyber world.

While most reports say that retailers have already started slashing prices as a way of drawing shoppers into the stores, there are still big bargains to be had this Friday and next Monday. That’s why I’m offering up these four tips for making the most of Black Friday and Cyber Monday–that is, with green and frugal living in mind. Here goes.

1. Be like Santa and make a list
We’ve talked in the past about how making a list helps you to stay on track when food shopping and meal planning. Well, the same thinking applies to holiday shopping. Here’s what should be on your holiday shopping list:

• the people you need to buy for
• what you think you’d like to purchase for these people
• how much you think you’d like to spend/what your budget is
• where you think you’re doing to do your shopping

2. Check prices before your hit the stores
There are websites now that let you preview the Black Friday circulars online before they even show up in your mailbox or inside your newspaper. Log on to check them out so that you have a more realistic sense of what things will actually cost this year, says financial expert Clarky “Debt Diva” Davis.

3. Beat the early birds by doing pre-shopping reconnaissance
My husband and daughter thrive on getting up and getting to the stores by 5 a.m. on Black Friday morning. (It’s the only morning I can get her up that early.) However, Consumer World suggests that people thinking of doing the early-bird shopping thing should do some pre-shopping scouting on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. This way you can learn a store’s layout ahead of time and then act in a more targeted manner when the doors open the day after Thanksgiving, though some stores like KB Toys are opening at midnight.

4. Cyber Monday deals make actually start on Black Friday
Just as brick-and-mortar retailers got a jump on Black Friday deals, so, too, are some e-tailers. If you log on Black Friday, you just might find some awesome early Cyber Monday deals, such as free shipping. However, the National Retail Federation is predicting that online shoppers will still find tons of deals on Monday, December 1st aka Cyber Monday. Best of all: you’ll save your own gas by shopping online.