Martin Lewis reacts to Budget and brings us the best Black Friday deals

We’re about to hit black Friday weekend – which means stores are pumping out deals galore. Yet is this all about bargains or baloney and what are the best offers out there? Who better to tell us than our Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis, in a Black Friday deals special. Also, Martin tells us what the latest Budget means for us.

QUIZ: How much do you know about Black Friday?

Remember, deals can change quickly, even while I’m on the programme. So always double-check the terms and conditions before spending. Plus, while I hope these deals will save you cash, don’t spend if you can’t afford it, don’t need it, or won’t use it.

What is Black Friday?

It’s a US phenomenon: the first Friday after Thanksgiving when traditionally the Christmas deals are launched. It’s now come over here and merged with Cyber Monday (the busiest online shopping day) to become a Black Friday weekend. In many ways this isn’t new, we’ve always had deals throughout November and December, just now more of them are concertinaed into this one weekend.

Is it any good? Should people engage?

The most important thing to understand is if you were going to buy something anyway and it is reduced from £100 to £50 then you’ve saved £50. Yet if you’re only buying it because you think it’s a bargain and wouldn’t have done so otherwise, it’s not a saving it’s an extra cost of £50. So you need to control your spending impulses and plan exactly what you want first.

Ask yourself do I need it? Can I afford it? Have I checked whether it is available cheaper elsewhere? If the answer to any of those is no. Then don’t buy it.

And deals come in two forms. The ones I most like are those with blanket codes or vouchers that operate cross store, as here you can usually buy what you would’ve bought anyway at a discount. Yet there are also one-off deals on individual items, and then are primarily there to lure you into spending on things you may not have wanted anyway.

If you are planning to buy it’s worth checking prices on a comparison site like 123PriceCheck, PriceRunner and Dealpond. For example a Sony Bravia smart TV (model number KDL32RE453BU) price difference in stores recently ranged from £249 in PC World to £310 in Tesco Direct.

Confirmed and suspected cross-store deals:

Many stores keep it until the last minute, so we won’t know exactly what’s on offer until tomorrow, see Martin’s regularly updated guide to all the best black Friday deals to keep on track throughout the weekend. Here’s a mix of guesses and confirmed.

Suspected: Selfridges 20% off code It's not yet confirmed, but for the past 11 years Selfridges tends to release a 20% off code around this time of year, so I’m pretty confident it will be doing the same this year. It usually works on all lines including fashion, homeware and accessories, or 10% off fragrance and beauty online and in stores.

Confirmed: up to 30% of DebenhamsGo online or in-store to Debenhams and you can get up to 30% almost all departments, though in beauty and fragrance it’s up to 10% off, until 11.59pm Monday 27 November. It’s also running 'daily deals' which start at 6am until 11.59pm each day, and give up to 50% off selected items such as specific brands or toys.

Confirmed: 40% off The Body ShopGo online or instore to The Body Shop and you can get 40% off most full-price items when you enter the code 19806 (or show it in store)until 9am on Tuesday 28 November or store closing on Monday 27.

Confirmed: up to 50% off Boots Go online or in-store to Boots now and you can get up to 50% off on fragrance, make-up and electricals. Boots haven’t said when the end date is so if there’s something on your list, go quick.

Confirmed: 40-50% off GapGo online to Gap and you'll get 40% off all full-price items when you enter the code BFGAP at the checkout by 11.59pm on Saturday 25 November. If in-store you can get up to 50% off all full-price items when you show the code on your smartphone or as a print out.

Confirmed: La Redoute 40% off everything codeIf you go to fashion retailer La Redoute and enter the code BLACKFRIDAY you can get 40% off everything, until 11.59pm on Tuesday 28 November. This code is great as La Redoute sells brands such as French Connection, Levi's and Hush Puppies, which means it could work out cheaper, than going direct to that brand’s store. For example Levi’s 501 jeans are £65 at Levi's, yet buy at La Redoute using a La Redoute code and you can get the same jeans for £45.

Confirmed: Lightening deals at AmazonAmazon has already started to pump out its deals, and while some have no end date, some will be "Lightning Deals" (with a countdown timer) which will be posted as often as every five minutes. It won’t reveal what will be on sale in advance so you have to keep checking. And as Amazon prices go up and down daily, use the Amazon price tracker Camelcamelcamel, to see if a price is at its lowest.

So far I've seen decent savings on Amazon devices, eg, Amazon Echo for £34.99 (normally £49.99) which is Amazon’s cheapest ever price, Amazon Echo Plus for £109.00 (normally £139.99) and Kindle Paperwhite for £79.99 (was £109.99) again Amazon’s cheapest ever price. However many of its deals, in particular Amazon devices, are being matched by other retailers – so check elsewhere too.

Confirmed: Buy £25 Ikea Christmas tree and get a £20 voucherThis is a deal to pine for.From today, if you buy a £25 real Christmas tree from your nearest Ikea store, you’ll get a £20 voucher to spend at any participating store between Monday 5 February and Monday 2 April next year. It’s likely to be tree-mendously popular. Ikea says the tallest ones are about 170cm (5ft 7in), but they do vary in size. Officially, it's on until Saturday 23 December, but if previous years are anything to go by, this'll be very popular - so go quick if you want one.

Confirmed: Up to 50% off Topshop and TopmanGo online or instore to Topshop and Topman and you can now get up to 50% off selected items across all departments until 11.59pm on Monday 27 November. Delivery is also free, which is normally £4. The discount automatically applied at the checkout.

Suspected: 20% off AsosFor the past three years, Asos has offered a 20% off code, starting on the Thursday before Black Friday, so I suspect it’ll do something similar this year. Previously the code worked on already-discounted items up to 70%, so it could be pretty decent if it does it again.

Suspected: 20% off DisneyLast year the Disney Store offered 20% off most items (including those already discounted) during black Friday weekend, so I reckon there's a strong chance it could do the same again.

Suspected: Up to 50% off House of FraserLast year House of Fraser offered up to 50% off a large range of items online and in store over Black Friday Weekend, and I suspect it’ll do something similar this year too.

Suspected: Up to 50% of Toys R UsLast year Toys R Us offered Black Friday discounts on a range of products including toys, video games and scooters. But while some reductions made Toys R Us the cheapest place to buy, others didn't, which is why it's so important to do your own price checks before buying.

Broadband dealsBlack Friday broadband deals are also pretty decent for fibre broadband (not so much for standard speeds), so for most who've spent years with the same provider the savings can be huge.Both deals end Monday, so go quick.

- £20/mth Fibre broadband: Currently newbies to Vodafone can get discounted up-to-38Mb fast fibre broadband and line rental for £20/mth (or superfast for £25/mth) on an 18 month contract. There’s no upfront fee and it’s available to 83% of the UK.

- £27/mth Ultrafast Fibre broadband: Currently Virgin Media via the Broadband Genie website can get discounted up-to-100Mb ultrafast fibre broadband, line rental and a Tivo TV box with 70+ channels for equivalent £27/mth. The deal is £11/mth for the broadband and tv, £16/mth for line rental (if you pay a year's line rental of £196 upfront, and a £20 set-up fee. But you’re also automatically sent a £25 Amazon voucher, so factor that in and it works out at £27/month otherwise it’s equivalent to £30 if you pay line rental monthly.