Is Black Friday set up for you to really save money or is it a way for businesses to sell more merchandise and get you to spend more than you planned?
Black Friday is one of the busiest shopping days for a combination of reasons. It marks the unofficial beginning of the Christmas shopping season and between 30 – 40% of annual retail sales occur between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Additionally, many employers give their employees the day off as part of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. In order to take advantage of this, virtually all retailers in the country, big and small, offer various sales including limited amounts of doorbuster items to entice traffic.
Most people hope to “save money” while shopping but end up spending more. While at the same time there’s an incentive for businesses to clear inventory and generate as much revenue as possible before their accountants close the books on December 31st so they can show shareholders that Q4 was a profitable one.
I’m not against Black Friday and holiday shopping. There are ways to do it right. I simply want to help you create a plan and understand that it’s all set up for you to spend more money than you planned. You have to be aware of that. Maybe you haven’t planned yet and this will help get the most out of Black Friday and save you money.
How to get the most out of it
Even though Black Friday is less and less appealing to me, there are good deals to be had. In the past, we’ve gotten great deals on things such as a TV, workout supplements, and last year we bought our baby crib and car seat and saved a good amount of money. We all love that feeling of getting good deals and feeling like you got away with a steal and that’s why shopping can literally become an addiction for some people because they’re always looking for that next good deal. If you’ve been waiting a long time to buy something this might be the week that you finally make it happen.
Whether you shop online or in-store there are many ways to double your efforts beyond the normal 20 – 50% off. You can save money in the form of discount codes and cashback.
If you’re looking for additional discount codes and cashback online make sure you download these:
Ibotta – This app has helped me earn over $150 in cashback on grocery shopping, online shopping, and travel. If you’re looking to purchase something on Amazon for example, simply go to Amazon through their app and you will earn a percentage of cashback when you make a purchase. Once you reach $20 in cashback you can have it sent directly to your Paypal or Venmo.
Ebates – Similar to Ibotta where you get cashback for online shopping except this one can be automatically added to your internet browser so whenever you go to check out with an Ebates partner, which there are thousands, it will ask you if you would like to activate your cashback. We’ve made over $100 in the past year and we hardly shop online.
Honey – This is also an extension that you can add to your internet browser and whenever you go to check out online it will scan all of the active discount codes for you so you don’t have to waste time looking for codes. This will save you a ton of time and a little bit of money the next time you go shopping.
If you combine all three of these when it comes to your Black Friday you’re sure to get the most out of it.
Why you shouldn’t care
Black Friday can be a fun and exciting time but don’t let that entice you to spent more money than what you have set aside in your budget.
I’ve always found it to be ironic that on Thanksgiving we’re supposed to be grateful for what we have and then we go shopping to fill in the gaps of stuff that we don’t have immediately after. I hope this week is filled with time with loved ones and that you focus on the things that really matter, and hopefully save a little money at the same time.
Happy Thanksgiving!
