Good morning Dinks. Remember last week when I said that I wouldn’t go out shopping on Black Friday? Well I was with my best friend and she really wanted to go out and find a new dress. The thought of being in an overcrowded, hot shopping mall is comparable to scraping nails down a chalkboard, but as her best friend I felt that it was my duty to support her in this shopping endeavour. So how did we survive Black Friday? With these three simple shopping strategies:
Avoid the crowds as much as possible
We did go out shopping on Black Friday, but we didn’t go at 2 a.m., we didn’t go at 7 a.m., we actually went to the mall at 8 p.m. It was still busy, but it was bearable. After one and a half hours of shopping I ended up spending $64 and she ended up spending $281.
Online shopping is another way to take advantage of Black Friday, that’s what I did last year. I purchased candles and shower gel from Bath and Body Works for three reasons: 1. They were having an awesome sale, 2. There is not a Bath and Body Works store near my house so I couldn’t go out and take advantage of the Black Friday sales and 3. I burn a lot of candles at home. One of my main expenses when shopping online is the cost of shipping, because I live in Canada sometimes the shipping is actually more expensive than my total sale.
Get deals on items that you need to buy
I didn’t purchase any items that I normally wouldn’t buy i.e. yoga pants and undergarments from Victoria’s Secret, a candle from Bath and Body Works and a lip gloss and shower gel from Sephora. Did I actually NEED any of these items right now? No. But I will be using undergarments and lip gloss for the rest of life, so why not buy them when they are on sale!?!?
My friend, who is also a former spend-a-holic, bought Christmas gifts as well as some items such as warm winter clothes and perfume for herself. Neither one of us spent money on items that we didn’t need or want just because they were on sale.
Don’t give in to the holiday marketing schemes
I am not a fan of having to spend a minimum dollar amount on my purchase before I get a deal, free gift or discount. I think that if stores want my business they should offer a discount up front because they appreciate my business, not give me a reason to spend money that I don’t need to.
The Body Shop was offering a tote bag full of products for $25 with any $30 purchase. Now I guess that’s OK if you already needed products and planned to spend $30 anyways, but it’s still an extra $25 that you didn’t plan on spending. In my opinion regular products should be discounted before offering a marketing scheme as a way to get clients to spend more money on Black Friday.
What did you buy on Black Friday? Join the conversation on Facebook
Photo by Brian Scoble
My wife is a huge bath and body fan. HUGE. They do have some great sales during this time of year, so I spend some quality husband time sitting on the bench outside that store in the mall. At least people watching is fun. :)
We didn’t buy anything, but it makes sense to look for deals on the items you really need. Otherwise it’s just money wasted.