Black Friday can be a curse and a blessing all rolled into one! Retailers are excellent at creating a massive amount of buzz, adrenaline, and impulse for spending money.
To get the best bargains as a consumer, you need to take a step back from the noise and the frenzy and focus on what you want to buy with your money. You owe it to yourself, and your credit card!
Sounds simple, right?
When you are seeing TV commercials, emails, popup ads and all kinds of communications about huge savings and deals, it can be difficult not to be tempted. But remember, all of this hubbub is designed to create an urgency to buy that you probably did not have before.
So, before you reach for your plastic friend and enter your bank details, ask yourself a few simple questions. Would it actually be a bad thing if you left Black Friday without a purchase? In other words, how much do you actually need anything? Don’t bow to the pressure if you don’t have to – walking away can feel like a victory in itself!
Deals can feel great, but the reality is Black Friday is designed to create more sales by retailers. It can be tempting to make purchases you have not planned to make not doing so will not make you feel good in the long run.
Do some homework
The best way to avoid making unnecessary purchases is to do some homework before you start shopping. most Black Friday offers are claim limited which is designed to create an urgency to buy the more consumers.
Online sales made this even easier for retailers to do. Colourful banners control pop adverts make it almost impossible to miss time sensitive deals.
Just because the product says it is an unmissable offer the reality may be completely different. Ask yourself why the offer is so good. Would a retailer really give away an 80% discount hold a hugely successful product this close to Christmas? The reality is probably not.
To protect yourself against this, do some research and find out how much the product was before the Black Friday sales began ideally you should start looking at this in October or even before. This is especially important for bigger purchases such as white goods or other electrical or visual items.
Marketing overload
Black Friday relies on multi-channel marketing strategies. This means your email is likely to be spammed your phone screen or laptop filled with advertisements, and your TV filled with Black Friday commercials. Try two take a step back from all this noise and consider what you actually need and what your budget is.
Although it may feel good at the time to make some impulsive purchases, think about yourself when your credit card bill is due, and you have potentially purchased several items that are really not essential.
Take control!
Black Friday could actually be fun important part is to take control of your own decisions plan your budget carefully and consider every purchase you make this will avoid regret later down the line when you have to pay for everything.
