There’s only one Black Friday strategy you need to win, and collectors of frequent flyer miles are very familiar with this thinking already because there’s a trap we all have to be careful not to fall into. I wrote “This Game Is Not For You If…” about mistakes people make with mileage-earning credit cards.
- If you don’t pay off your bill in full each month, don’t pay attention to credit card rewards pay attention to your interest rate (and getting the card paid off as quickly as you can)
- And do not spend more money than you would otherwise spend because you’re using a credit card, or because you ‘need’ the spending to hit a bonus. On average people using credit cards do spend more than those using cash, though a number of factors influence that result.
The same thing is true chasing other mileage deals. You need to watch your costs. And Black Friday is no different. You didn’t think Black Friday was for your benefit, did you? The idea is to get you to spend more money than you’d otherwise spend by offering deals at a time that’s become focal for customers.
Stay disciplined. Do not buy things simply because they are a ‘good deal’ relative to their usual price. You wouldn’t have paid that price anyway, so you aren’t saving money compared to that price if you make a purchase. Here’s ow I know you wouldn’t have paid that price: you didn’t buy it already.
There may be things you have in your purchase path already. Those are what you should consider buying on Black Friday.
- Know what you want to buy those are the things to buy, not shiny things you see along the way.
- Know what those things normally cost, so you can identify how deep a discount you’re getting. Don’t go through big effort for small discounts that you can get any time — more importantly if it’s a deal you can get later, why not wait? And that’s for reasons other than time value of money, you can always think more about whether you really need it. The worst time to buy something is when you feel pressure to do so. Always be willing to walk away when a car salesman tells you about the other buyers looking at the car you think you want.
- Know how much you’re willing to spend. And know how that changes if what’s offered is slightly different than the ideal item you were considering.
Buy the things you would consider buying anyway when they’re offered for substantially less money than you would otherwise have to pay. And that’s it.
Often we buy things because of the excitement, because there’s buzz around a good deal, or because all of a sudden it seems like a good idea. I prefer not buying things. I consider them. I may even add them to my shopping cart. Then I go remove things, reconsidering whether I actually need it or even wanted it as much as I thought.
Back when I was in my early 20s and started working right out of college my first job paid $21,000 a year. I earned some quick raises over my first few months — to $23,000 and then $24,500 and after a year to $30,500. Once I made over $30,000 I got my own apartment (a very small unit in a bit of a rundown area sandwiched between two bowling alleys).
I’d go shopping but I wouldn’t just buy things. Instead I’d walk around and I’d consider. That helped me not buy a lot more than I’d buy. The truth is I don’t need that much stuff and don’t want it piling up. I still try to practice that today even though I can afford more than I could back then.
There are so many things that seem like a good idea at the time that wind up in closets or in the trash. The diligent among us might resell them online.
I’m not saying ‘don’t buy nice things’ or even ‘only buy what you need’. I’ve never been a ‘financial independence retire early’ guy because I actually like my work (I still have a full time job in addition to this blog and other endeavors in travel). I’m simply saying be disciplined and that impulse purchases are often suboptimal choices.
Your key to Black Friday sales is not to buy a lot more than you buy, and only buy the things you figured out you wanted or needed anyway.
My BF strategy.
I bookmarked everything I thought I wanted to order. A day later came back and looked at them again and deleted anything which wasn’t that interesting on 2nd look.
Result, my cart was empty by checkout.
Amazon has made it easy to keep track of prices for things bought over the years. It also makes it easy to track the current prices of what you bought. You can also save items from your cart for easy review. I have noticed a trend in the last few years. There are usually sales on things a month or two before Black Friday that are as good or better than Black Friday or Cyber Monday prices. What happens is that the prices of the tracked products rise in the weeks before Black Friday and then drop for a “good deal” on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. You have to act fast on some sales as they can be gone in minutes or even seconds.
My strategy is basically to reduce normal shopping before Black Friday by asking myself what can wait until Black Friday. Then I buy those things of Black Friday and usually do save some money (or get more miles etc.). And if I find good deals on consumables, I’ll stock up a few months’ worth because I’ll need to buy those things soon anyways.
Other than that, I avoid buying things on Black Friday that I wasn’t planning on buying otherwise.
I also enjoy working but still strive for “financial independence retire early” not necessarily to actually stop working but for flexibility to not be stressed about layoffs and take less intense or lower paying job if want to
@Gary, when I was in grad school I had to watch every penny. Occasionally I went to the local mall for entertainment, window shopping, and my big treat was an ice cream or cookie from Mrs. Fields. I always left my credit cards at home, and made sure I had just a few dollars, enough to cover the cost of my treat. If I found something I thought I really, REALLY wanted I’d have to drive home, grab my wallet, make the return drive to the store, walk through the mall, buy the item, then drive back home again.
“Black Friday”, the most successful manipulative marketing game ever invented. Just a perfect example of “Bread & Circuses” for the masses.
I always thought of black friday as a sale event to buy stuff IF I NEEDED THEM.
I have not bought anything in black friday for two years now.
Sometimes there are excellent deals and if you wait, you lose out. I did that while pondering a new tv (mine are 15+ yr old Plasma TVs) and the next morning the price was $300 higher. We’ll see if it comes back down between now and Christmas.
I Buy nothing on BF
Was in retail for decades and watched people spend everything they had or charge what they couldn’t afford to be damaged financially for the holiday and way beyond for months or years with damaged credit history possibly as a result.
Did so well November to late January I would take a month off in February with my commissions and travel .
I buy gifts year round occasionally when they make sense and I’m confident reasonably someone will love something that made me think of them.I don’t need a holiday to prompt out of control spending and impulse buying.
Retailers I’m sure are quite glad I’m in the minority
This is one of the greatest advice one should actually take in life, for, well, a better life. Also, never speculatively buy airline points and never sign up for their credit cards!
Black Friday is for rookie shoppers. Often what is sold is of a lower quality and manufactured for the retailer specifically for the sale. Other tactics include the electronics not being the most current version. That is why they are so cheap and consumers will find them unsupported shortly after. Do your homework, shopping by price and not quality will not deliver value.
This year, I actually took advantage of these seasonal sales for three items that needed replacement.
a) My Bose earbuds – old enough they were still corded onto a horseshoe you kept around your neck – were no longer accepting a charge. They started dying back in August, so I babied them along and kept an eye on a pair of earbuds I liked. On a spot sale of “Early Black Friday savings” about two weeks ago, I got them for a total 40% off the usual price.
b) Our 20-year old microwave obligingly died the last week in October. The local appliance store has “Black Friday” sales all through November – there’s an incremental savings on the actual Thanksgiving Black Friday weekend, but the discounts are still substantial. I got it for 50% off (which pretty much covered the installation fees, since it’s an over-the-range microwave).
c) I have injuries that make vacuuming hard, and I’ve been eyeing a very light corded stick vacuum for a while. Amazon started selling it at 60% off yesterday, so I have it arriving next week.
I probably could have saved a little bit more on all of these had I waited specifically for this weekend, but I think I did pretty well, and I’m happy with that. And this is probably the most I’ve ever shopped during Black Friday season. But it has never occurred to me to go out to just randomly go shopping on Black Friday, but I will take advantage of the discounts for things that I need.
@Maryland With major branded items, they are not made of a lower quality for the sale. Thats somewhat private label goods and for certain retail strategies. That TV that was 2K last month now 1500 can be checked as the the same model, same item. Anyone who wants to monitor Amazon prices and know if they are really getting the right price use keepa dot com. Its free for buyers. You can see if its the lowest price and also set a price alert to email you at a given price etc. Its ifferent than those other product price things because you can see what the lowest price really was.
I added a few Black Friday sales to my Amazon cart this week, but as I started checkout, I noticed they were ringing up full price, not the Black Friday price. So be careful. I’m assuming that once Friday hits, their price will be reduced to the stated sale price. So, I’m waiting.
But yes, I will do some random Black Friday shopping, not for things I need or intended to buy already, but just because i CAN.
I spent many years being unable to afford anything other than what it took to keep me alive. So many years, in fact, that I can’t break out of that mold. I buy “wants” almost NEVER. But on rare occasions — that may or may not coincide with Black Friday — I buy something I don’t need. Tomorrow is one of those times.
Enjoy your discipline, all y’all !!!
@ Robert w.
Robert, brand labels subcontract those low price models. In fact I urge everyone to visit the labeled manufacturing website and search the exact model # and see if it is listed. Often the subs will not show up. Happy thanksgiving to everyone.
@robertw, thanks for pointing out the keepa website. I had not used it before but it seems great. I sometimes get things for less than the site lists because there are coupons and other discounts that aren’t on the tracking that I saw. It definitely shows some items being most deeply discounted several weeks before Thanksgiving.
Those 10% discounted gift cards through Chase make it difficult for me to pass up the Leather Jacket. As well as the 12% back from Rakuten for a Ninja oven…