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Navigating Black Friday…

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Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone (and by ‘anyone’, I mean my mother) but…

I read Cosmo.

Come on! I read finance stuff all the time and every once in a while, it’s nice to read garbage *cough*, I mean, light reading.

Anyway, for those of you crazy folks *cough*, I mean money savers, who shop on Black Friday, Cosmo has some tips on surviving the busiest shopping day of the year.

#1 – Go to Blackfriday.com. They have a listing of retailers you can sign up for e-mail notifications when their deals are posted. They also let you know what stores are running pre-Black Friday deals.

#2 – Go online early, add items to your cart, and press refresh when the sales start to see if your items went on sale.

#3 – Join your favorite retailer’s Facebook page or subscribe to their Twitter feed. Sometimes subscribers get early access to sales.

Or…

#4 – Don’t buy gifts this year and pay down debt.

OK, they didn’t write #4. But that’s the one I’m doing.


7 Comments

  • Reply Susan |

    I don’t want to burst your bubble or hurt your feelings, but sometimes, I think you take the paying down debt too far. A huge part of being debt free is understanding what balance means for you and how to manage money. Debt free isn’t some magical utopia where the world is wonderful. You have to find balance between spending and saving. I think you have mastered saving and doing without, but what happens after you hit your goal. Practice some balance now and it will be easier. Also, regardless of your baby’s age, Santa needs to pay a visit to your house. Skip #4 for little Cash. He is on Santa’s newcomers list.

  • Reply Alexandria |

    I totally disagree with the last comment. I do believe that balance is VERY important. Indeed! But part of living a debt-free life is realizing that the world doesn’t end because you don’t buy Christmas presents. I’d say that at any age, but with a newborn? Seriously? He won’t even know!!

    We personally don’t spend much money on Christmas. Ever. It’s not about the presents. I am thankful for every year we still have our parents and grandparents to celebrate the holidays with. That is TRULY what is important. I have never once thought, “Gee, we should have spent more money on stuff!”

    Another part of the balance is being creative in finding gifts. Just because we don’t spend a lot on Christmas doesn’t mean we can’t figure out how to get some great gifts. I can do a VERY material Christmas without spending a penny. Sometimes we do just that.

  • Reply Susan |

    Alexandria: Who said “spend a lot?” I said remember your child and give him a gift. Skip the adults, but the kids….come on. Just because he is a newborn doesn’t mean he doesn’t count.

  • Reply Kelly |

    I think the best tip is #3. These days the most adventageous aspects of the internet, are the way you utilize social media sites, and the offers they provide. If you “like” or subscribe to a page, you are more likely to receive information about things you may need or want, and especially deals on items on yours or family/friends holiday wish lists. Utilize these outlets to gain an edge on your shopping endeavors this season!

  • Reply Andrea |

    Hello, I ran across your blog this evening and I really like what you have to say.

    #4 is right. Honestly, most of the stuff we spend for Christmas ends up in a yard sale or the attic by the next year…that was $$ we could use to pay down debt or use that same amount of money to give to someone who needs it more.

    I like to give gifts but what I like to be able to do is think long term in the future. If I can save that money I’m blowing on extra Christmas gifts right now to get rid of liability debt and/or use that money to increase my skill for future wealth building… then absolutely being reserved in the short term is actually opening myself up to GREAT gain in the future. I want to be able to give LOTS of gifts away to people but how can I unless I get out of liability debt and learn how to create true wealth?

    I just love what you had to say and I know this is long comment but I really appreciate it. I look forward to reading more on your blog. I found your site on google this evening. Thanks for sharing.

  • Reply Black Friday |

    Definitely makes sense, but isn’t giving gifts one of the most exciting things to do?

So, what do you think ?