Black Friday can be a great opportunity to save money, but it’s also a financial trap for many. You see a tempting deal—or what appears to be one—so you buy that item, then another, and another. Before you know it, you’ve spent far more than you intended and ended up with things you didn’t need, want, or budget for.
Don’t fall into the Black Friday trap! Instead, use Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday to save on items that are already on your list and within your budget. Unless you are buying my Black Friday offerings! haha
Let’s dive into the hype around Black Friday and how to navigate it smartly.
Retailers use marketing and psychology to encourage spending for their sales. They use tactics that initiate FOMO (fear of missing out) and encourage impulse buying and all of us can fall into this trap. We need to recognize these sales tactics, like “Limited-time offers” and “Doorbusters”. If it’s on your list and you have budgeted for it, buy it. BUT, if it isn’t- DON’T!!
In the United States, our overconsumption is out of control. We buy, buy, buy, and buy some more and then wonder where our money went. We are living paycheck to paycheck because of the way society has set us up to “buy” our happiness. Buying doesn’t make us happier—it makes us stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, and depressed. We overspend and then feel guilty for it. We are drowning in debt and don’t know how to get out of it. It’s a vicious cycle that keeps going round and round. Now is your chance to stop it. You can make a change and NOT fall into the hype of sales, overspending, and overconsumption.
So, starting TODAY, I want you to set up your holiday budget. This should include money for things like gifts, travel, food, and giving. Come up with a realistic number that you are willing to spend and that you can afford to spend. If you have a monthly budget this will help tremendously!
Let’s say you’re budgeting $500 for holiday expenses over the next 5 weeks. That breaks down to $100 per week. By December 23rd, you’ll have spent your $500—and that’s it. Make a commitment to stick to that budget. I don’t want January to come with the stress of paying off a credit card bill from Christmas shopping. No gift is worth that financial strain.
If money is tight this year, and for many of us it is, it’s perfectly okay to let family and friends know you’re scaling back on gifts. Consider homemade gifts or experience-based gifts that can be enjoyed throughout the coming year. Don’t go into debt for holiday spending; your peace of mind is worth so much more.
If you find yourself having a bit of extra money, or better yet, if you are able to budget some money to spend on giving to those in need, do that. I am a huge advocate for giving to your community, those in need, churches, non-profits, etc. So many people are truly struggling this year, so giving to places and people where the money is truly needed is better than buying another toy for my kids or another sweater for myself.
If you are reading this during the Thanksgiving time of the year, it is a great time to be thankful, grateful, and to count our blessings. We likely have more than we need, like truly really need. I know you want to give gifts to your kids and other family members, but maybe this is the year you decide to spend a little less on them and donate one of those gifts you would have bought for your son or daughter and give it to someone else’s son or daughter who won’t get anything else this year.
Tracking your spending this holiday season is key to staying within your budget. One simple way to do this is by using a cash envelope: put the amount you’ve budgeted for gifts in the envelope, keep it with you, and when it’s empty, your holiday shopping is DONE.
Here are some of my cash envelopes I use!
I personally use the free version of the EveryDollar app to track my spending and create my monthly budget. You can also use a spreadsheet, pen and paper, another app, or even the notes section on your phone. Find a system that works for you, and keep your spending on track!
You have the power to say no and to make the changes needed this holiday season to not overspend, over-give, and overconsume. Your wallet, purse, bank account, and house will thank you!
If this is the year you need to cut back and say no, embrace that! Let’s start making decisions that will put you in a stronger financial position before the new year! New Year’s is coming up too, but what if you started making the needed changes NOW with your money, instead of putting it off to January 1st? Imagine how much further ahead you will be. Start setting those healthy habits now.
Be sure to check out my FREE Budgeting 101 online course, https://jessica-s-site-d45b.thinkific.com/courses/free-budgeting-101-course
I want you to make sure you are not relying on your credit card for your holiday shopping. Now is the time to start saving cash or cutting back on un-necessary spending to prepare for the upcoming holiday expenses. If you are reading this after the holiday season, no worries, just use this information as a way to prepare for the next holiday season or use these tips and information to think ahead for other upcoming seasons, like, Back-to-school, Valentine’s Day, upcoming birthdays, etc. Planning ahead and saving for future expenses is key.
This is what I do. Starting in April or May, I start saving for back-to-school spending which typically happens in August. For Christmas, I actually save all year round, January-December, I automatically save $100 per month, so come, December I have $1200 to spend on all Christmas-related expenses, this is something you can do next year—just make it your goal!
Here is my podcast episode on Money-Savvy Strategies: Preparing and Saving For Back-To-School Shopping. Be sure to take a listen, https://www.buzzsprout.com/2143456/episodes/13166913
Back to Black Friday sales, don’t fall into the “buy now pay later” tactics. These are NO GOOD! Even if they are interest-free, there can be other fees associated with them, OR you can have good intentions of paying it off in the allotted time and then we all know what happens, life happens, other expenses come up, and you end up needing to prioritize those bills/expenses and your “buy now pay later” ends up being paid later and you are then paying MORE for those items. It is just not a good idea.
Instead of getting caught up in the Black Friday rush, let’s shop with purpose this season. Choose meaningful gifts that fit within your budget, and don’t feel pressured to overspend—it’s perfectly okay to scale back on gift-giving and holiday expenses this year. I’m also focusing on supporting local and small businesses rather than always turning to big companies like Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Let’s make our holiday shopping intentional and impactful!
When you support local you are truly making a difference to those families who rely on those sales to support their families.
A couple of tips for mindful shopping, and changing your mindset. Before every purchase ask yourself, “Do I really need this?” or “Does this get me closer to or further from my financial goals?” “Is this what I truly want vs it just seems like a good deal?”
Sometimes I am willing to pay more for quality goods and I have been embracing quality vs quantity. I have decluttered a ton and gotten rid of so many things in the last couple of years. This has also helped my mindset of buying less because I only buy what I really, really want.
I want to also encourage you to remember the reason for this season. Let’s focus on spending quality time with our loved ones instead of going into debt for gifts that can be somewhat meaningless.
xoxo
Jess Wayne Coaching
