I know, this is a personal finance, money-saving blog. I should be encouraging you to go out there and get all those insane deals so you can save money, right?
Nope. Not gonna do it.
It’s been several years since I went shopping on Black Friday. And, if we’re being honest here, when I did want one of those killer “deals” I would beg kindly request my husband get up at 4:00 a.m. and go in my stead. He’s awesome, by the way.
The truth about Black Friday “deals” is, while retailers mark down select items to rock bottom prices, they offer up even more items as steals that aren’t good deals at all. The deals are typically only offered for a limited time and, when examined closely, the lowest price items are often of lesser quality, meaning they likely have a shorter lifespan.
But, I admit, those brightly colored Black Friday ads and limited time offers sure are appealing. And once they get you into the store or to the website, you’re sure to find other great deals, encouraging you to make purchases you never intended to make in the first place. (Retailers spend vast amounts of time and money developing ways to inspire you to impulsively part with your money.)
And do I even need to mention the crowds?
Nothing bad is going to happen if you skip Black Friday this year. And I bet you won’t even spend more money on gifts by not scoring those crazy deals. I encourage you to try skipping it this year and just see what happens.
While I’m all about saving money, I believe you can have a great holiday without spending a colossal amount of money. Let’s remember what the season is about. Let’s be grateful for what we have. And let’s enjoy the time we have to spend with friends and family. Because we only have this one life, friends, and time is precious.
What to do instead of shop on Black Friday
Make homemade gifts
Spend the day with family
Play games
Light a fire
Cook an amazing meal
Play outside
Binge watch your favorite movies or Netflix series
Do an enjoyable DIY project
Still not sure? Here are 35 things you can do without spending any money!
I’m with you, Amanda. I do not do Black Friday anymore. The crowds and crazy hours alone are enough to keep me away at this point. Sometimes I will partake in Cyber Monday deals, but even then I prefer to load up my Amazon cart beforehand and then see if anything that I have already picked out is on sale. That way I don’t get pulled into buying more things just because they’re a “great deal.”
Thanks, Matt! You have a great method for Cyber Monday – I do think I will give that a try as I do most of my shopping on Amazon anyway.
Not a big Black Friday person, both because the frenzy gets me spending more and because I don’t like crowds. I will shop online, both over the weekend and on Monday. My biggest problem is that with Little Bit tracked out for the next two weeks, I have to watch what I get shipped to our house. She’s already really curious about the box in my office. Fortunately, in it were presents for my niece and nephew and nothing for her.
I understand! The kids are always sooo curious what’s in the Amazon boxes. They are older, so it’s a bit easier to keep them out of it, but I used to have it shipped to my mom’s house to keep the curiosity at bay.
I’ll be sleeping in and then hopefully watching a game or two of college football! I will pay attention to cyber Monday though and see if I can get a couple gifts bought for cheap (and avoid buying anything extra!) Enjoy the holiday, Amanda!
Thanks! I plan to sleep in as well. I do think I’m going to put some items in my Amazon cart and see if the price drops, as Matt suggested, but that will be the extent of my shopping for the week. I hope you enjoy your holiday as well, GS!
I agree. It really doesn’t make sense to torture yourself with that kind of angry shopping. Just about every store offers site-wide discounts online that whole weekend. I don’t mind shopping, but that is no fun.
Both crowds and “going shopping” are close enough to torture for me to stay away. I have to admit, I do like a great Amazon deal though. 🙂
No black Friday for our household. Sometimes we like to go just for fun and to people watch, but never really to purchase anything specific.
I feel like with the way the internet works now, you can always find a way to get some sweet deal somewhere else, making actually going to the store for black Friday no longer necessary.
We are doing some fun things this week, but none of them involve shopping. I totally agree on internet shopping! I just don’t see any reason to subject myself (or my poor husband) to the chaos when there are decent deals online.
The last time I did Black Friday was about two or three years ago (although I didn’t get up at the crack of dawn). I used it to get new clothes.
I feel the same way about Cyber Monday as well. I feel like a lot of the stuff Amazon has on sale that day are stuff I would never actually buy on a regular basis.
I agree on Cyber Monday…I watch those deals, but it’s not typically on any item I would buy. That said, I am going to put items into my Amazon cart that I was going to buy anyway and see if the prices drop.
I don’t go out on black friday at all. I send locally made gift boxes to all my family, and create a little Amazon wish list for the kids. We plan a few purchases online, like we order all our coffee pods when they offer 20% off. I think this year we will be getting a new laptop. But that is about it. I do a bit of “day after” shopping. After Halloween I buy next years costumes. After Christmas I buy wrapping paper, and a few discounted items. Last year I found hand soap 75% off because of the “christmas” scents. We had peppermint soap for all the way into July. =)
I love the idea of the local gift boxes. I’m doing something similar (on a small scale) for teachers this year. I sometimes get out to do the “day after” shopping too – what a great deal on the soap! 🙂
Yeah it was originally $1.50, which isn’t bad for a good size bottle. But at .37 cents a bottle it was worth buying a few. =)
Too funny – I have done that too and my kids always say I’m crazy. Like peppermint soap isn’t good in March? 🙂
.37 a bottle is fantastic!
My extended family like to do Black Friday. I dislike crowds so I have never understood the appeal. While I try not to patronize businesses on this day (the whole weekend really), I do shop online.
Our web hosting renews on this weekend because it’s the lowest deal of the year & my wife & I take advantage of the offers for last-minute Christmas gifts as we monitor the prices beforehand.
Scoring the online deals makes more sense to me. I intend to monitor prices on my planned purchases as well. Honestly, we don’t buy for that many people, so shopping is typically pretty simple (thank goodness!).
I have never gone and never will if I have it my way. Mrs AE goes occasionally and may this year to hunt a few baby items but that is about the extent of it.
Amazon shopper – all the way
What would we ever do without Amazon? 🙂
Ha! You’re going to hate my blog this week. I don’t like going to the stores… Only did it twice and it made me lose my faith in humanity. But I do like getting steep discounts online that help me stay in budget. I research the living daylights out of them to make sure they’re good ones. It’s all about how you approach it, I suppose.
I would never hate your blog! I should have clarified in the post…to me doing the Black Friday thing means getting up at 2 am and going to the stores to fight crowds of people clamoring for a $5 discount. The online shopping (and getting steep discounts) makes sense, though I admit, I will not get up at 2 am to do that either. 🙂
I was reading an article today that said that an artist named Ted Dave started a movement in Canada called the Buy Nothing Day, which is the day after Thanksgiving to protest against consumerism.
I thought it tied in a bit with your article 🙂
I’ve heard of Buy Nothing Day, but didn’t know the origin. I’m in! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I’m pretty indifferent to Black Friday. If there is something I want I’ll go get it, but more often than not I’ll just browse a few websites and see if there’s anything on sale that I was planning on getting anyway. Overall I think if you approach it with a budget and a plan you are fine.
And yes, there is a lot to do instead of shop!
Good point, DC. It’s so important to plan, budget and stick to your list if you do go. I’m not sure that’s the general mindset, but I hope that’s what people do. 🙂
I’ve never shopped Black Friday and I’ve never understood the appeal. The frenzy, the crowds, and the junk on sale. Getting up early to stand on line? Not for me. Sleeping in and Netflix sound good.
Have a happy and safe holiday!
I’m with you, Mrs. Groovy! We’ll both be well rested on Friday. Wishing you and Mr. Groovy a wonderful holiday as well! 🙂
Black Friday is CRAZY. Isn’t it the day after your Thankgiving as well? Lol. Ironic! I shall not be shopping, because I don’t need anything! It’s a shame that some people are sucked into the marketing ploy though, and posts like this can really help to see it’s not that big a deal.
Thanks, Francesca! Yes, it’s the day following Thanksgiving, but many stores actually open late on the day of Thanksgiving (which drives me insane). It seems like a ton of “bargains” but, in reality, there are only a select few that are at steep discounts (it’s like the loss leaders at the grocery store – it’s a ploy to get you in the door).
* Thanksgiving!
Love this – “Because we only have this one life, friends, and time is precious.” Thanks for the reminder! I wish I could sleep in like the Green Swan but I’m sure the kids will get me up bright & early.
Thank you! It’s a good time of the year to remember time as our most valuable asset! As for sleeping in…wait until they’re teenagers – then you’ll never get them out of bed! 🙂
I love it, Amanda. Not only should we boycott Black Friday, we should boycott Christmas shopping altogether. I know that’s rather extreme, but I just can’t take the hyper-consumerism anymore. Fortunately for me, my family only does a grab bag now. Mrs. Groovy and I therefore don’t have the joy of dealing with traffic, malls, and crazed shoppers. Sorry to be a downer, Amanda. Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks, Mr. Groovy! You’re not a downer…I understand! I would love to have the grab bag for our family. After getting some feedback on the Rockstar forums on gift giving, I do believe I’m going to propose we gift differently, or not at all, next year (for the adults). Happy Thanksgiving to both of you as well! 🙂
I love this post so much it hurts! I completely agree. The sales aren’t that good, most of the time you spend more money than you would have on other stuff you didn’t intend to buy, and also, grumpy crowds. Also, I hate being awake at times I should be asleep. Also, I hate the cold. Also I love my family and would rather be hanging with them.
Oh, Amber, I’m glad it resonates with you too. I’m with you on everything here – getting up early only to fight crowds and save just a few bucks isn’t my cup of tea either.
No shopping for the BITAs. What is on the cards? Lazing around, getting the tree out of storage (as long as that doesn’t get top much in the way of the lazing) and perhaps sauntering over to the opening night of Christmas in the Park to watch the tree light up.
Thanks, Mrs. BITA! We will be lazing around at the Centsibly Rich household as well. We may get the tree out, but we’ll definitely light a fire, relax and eat leftovers! 🙂
“Nothing bad is going to happen if you skip Black Friday this year.” LOVE IT! Last year we went on BF to our local home improvement store b/c they had some awesome deals on stuff we needed. It was CRAZY packed at 6:15 a.m. I think we’ll be staying home this year. 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving, Amanda!
I have to wonder if you have a Menards, Laurie. Where I live, Menards is a home improvement store that runs some crazy BF deals. I admit, home improvement stores are my one weakness, but the crowds and early morning keep me out of Menards on Black Friday. Happy Thanksgiving to you too, Laurie! 🙂
Decluttering is the best incentive to skip Black Friday (and all other non-essential shopping). After all the decisions and hassle of getting rid of everything, the last thing I want to do is accumulate it all over again!
So true, Julie! I choose the gifts I give to others based on a “decluttering” mindset too. I don’t want to give gifts just to have them sit around in a closet for years. When I don’t know what to get someone, I tend to give food and other consumables.
Black Friday is something that has crept onto the scene in Canada only in the last several years – and it doesn’t tempt me at all – maybe because I didn’t grow up with it. I really don’t like shopping in crowds and getting that “I have to buy it before someone else does!” pressure. Like you, I will stay away from the stores tomorrow : )
It’s interesting how it’s spread into Canada. The crowds…oh, the crowds. We just left my parents house after celebrating Thanksgiving and had to drive by Target…traffic was backed up from people waiting for an open parking spot.