Believe it or not Black Friday 2012 is just around the corner. Commercials are in high gear and have catchy empowering songs like AC/DC’s Back In Black (a personal favorite of yours truly). Go ahead, give it a listen. Who wouldn’t want to shop with a fantastic theme song playing in the background? Stores know that the more excited, pumped, and empowered you feel the more you’ll spend. And chances are, if you’ve got a black-belt in power shopping, you’re going to blow your budget. Here are three guaranteed things you might do that will blow your budget on Black Friday 2012.
3 Mistakes That Will Blow Your Budget On Black Friday
1. Go Without A Plan
If you go into Black Friday sales blind, you’ll find yourself impulse shopping like nobody’s business. Between the stress of crazy-crowded stores and promises of shopping treasures beyond your wildest dreams, your adrenaline is going to have you flying higher than a kite and your endorphins are going to be pumping your brain full of shopping fantasies. You know what that means? Purposeless, self-indulgent, money-wasting, spending.
2. Don’t Set A Budget
Go ahead, spend away, but don’t coming whining with credit card debt mea culpa’s in the New Year. American consumers rack up record debt in the holiday buying season. According to Time Magazine, we spent $52 billion on Black Friday 2011 resulting in $5.6 billion dollars of new credit card debt acquired in the month of November.
3. Make a Day of It
If you’re anything like my husband, Black Friday starts as early as 10pm on Thanksgiving Day. He shops hardcore and it often involves coffee, breakfast out, more coffee, and lunch out. Grabbing meals out doesn’t come cheap…and it’s extra spending on top of what you’re already spending on your sale hunt.
3 Keys To A Budget Friendly Black Friday
1. Approach Black Friday by Shopping with Purpose:
Don’t hit the stores without knowing EXACTLY what you’re out for. There’s nothing more powerful than the adrenaline that comes from competitive shopping…especially if you are easily tempted in stores and you have no list. To guard your budget, take your time and determine exactly who you’re buying for, what you’re buying, and where you plan to buy it.
2. Leave Your Credit Card At Home:
If credit cards or debit cards are your kryptonite…and you often spend more than you intend…try to do your Black Friday shopping with a cash budget. When the cash runs out, your shopping spree is over.
3. “Sale” Is Not Always Synonymous With “Good Deal”
If something is on sale and you don’t really need it, but you buy it anyways, it’s not a deal. Repeat it with me: “Just because something is on sale does not mean it is a good deal for you.” Moreover, if you buy something in multiples that you only needed one of…it isn’t a deal either.
Always pause and ask yourself if it is something you truly need and/or will actually use (read: quesadilla maker, cake pop maker, wearable blanket…you get the idea).
Broken bank image from 401(k) 2012.
How do you keep your budget in check for Black Friday? Have you ever had post-Black Friday buyer’s remorse?
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