Black Friday

 

Do you shop on Black Friday?

Black Friday has become the common conversation with friends and family members on Thanksgiving.  Instead of focusing on seeing our loved ones Thanksgiving has been turned into pre-black Friday planning for many of us in the USA.  

Some stores have started to open even earlier to entice people to spend their hard earned money on "deals" that they are running.  This extended black Friday "Holiday" causes our friends and family who work in retail to work longer hours and get less of a holiday break.

Are the deals that you will get on black Friday enough that you will spend hours waiting outside of the store before it opens?

What are my alternatives?

Make a list

Instead of going to the stores and trying to get the best "deal" on an item you could go in with a list of all the people you are going to buy items for.  You can start to get ideas of different items that you would want to make or buy that person.

Having a list will help to keep you focused on specific items and not just the "deals" of the day.  If your item is on sale during Black Friday then you are actually getting a deal.

Flex your DIY skills

Instead of buying your gifts you can build/make the gifts.  If you choose to go down this route you can search for material that you need during black Friday.  This is another way to get a deal. When you go into the store or website with a list this will help you stay on task instead of buying items just because there is a big "x % off" tag sitting in front of the item.

Shop Small Business Saturday

Running a small business keeps our communities thriving.  Going out and supporting our unique small businesses will keep local families in our communities.

Conclusion

A deal is only a deal if you were planning on buying the item before going shopping.  If you end up buying the item just because it has a sign "x % off" the store is the one getting the deal.  

Help out our small business and throw some money their way.  Your dollar will go further helping our our local family business than just supporting the mega businesses.

Stay on budget.  The holidays come the same time every year.  Start to same a small amount in a new account set aside just for the holidays and stay to that number. 

Last but not least!  Be kind to yourself and others.  We are all humans and make mistakes.  The holidays can be stressful and kindness can go a long way!