It’s tempting every year. Maybe you need a new television, or a washer/dryer set, and are thinking you could save a lot of money by buying on Black Friday.
Chances are you probably don’t even need any of these items but the allure of Black Friday and its sales that are supposed to be the best of the year, are just too much to pass up.
But I’ll let you in on a little secret: If you want to save the most money on Black Friday— don’t go shopping.
That’s right. Don’t even set foot in the store, and you’ll save the most money by not buying things you don’t need! Genius, right?
Hear me out.
Many shoppers openly admit that they shop because they’re interested in checking out the sales. Many of them don’t even need many of the items they purchase (mistake #1) but they simply do it to belong to that crowd of people who can claim they survived Black Friday and scored a great deal on some superfluous item they didn’t need.
Furthermore, the best deals aren’t even held on Black Friday, according to many shopping experts, going so far as to call Black Friday “a myth.” In fact, shopping analysts suggest that when retailers fail to meet sales expectations during the Black Friday weekend, they are actually tempted to lower prices throughout December as well in order to meet sales goals.
It’s true–I went shopping on Black Friday several years ago and purchased a number of items, only to find those “Black Friday deals” on clearance several weeks later for a lot less than what I had paid. I was livid–and vowed never to make myself a fool again.
These days, it takes a lot for me to actually set foot in any store. Comparison shopping is so much easier online. If I ever want to make sure I’m getting the best deal, I just do some “googling” and quickly come up with the best deal–it’s like Black Friday all year round.
So if you’re really looking to save the most money on Black Friday this year, do yourself a favor and stay home and enjoy Thanksgiving with your family. For the select few that sacrifice their Thanksgiving meals with their families and make it to the front of the Black Friday shopping lines, then maybe they will save $100 or $200 on a Tv that they most likely didn’t really need.
But you always have to wonder what the actual cost of that TV is–not just monetarily, but the emotional cost on your friends and family as you sacrifice time with them to save a couple hundred on a television set. Most of the other deals, aren’t really worth it. Black Friday has been created to make you feel like you’re getting the best deal–but if anyone is getting the best deal this Black Friday, it’s the big box stores.
Save the most money on Black Friday: Stay Home.
