With the holiday season fast approaching, the Black Friday deals and savings are now just around the corner. While we’re all geared up for endless savings and bargains, impulse buying during the Black Friday sales could leave you with a burning hole in your monthly budget, and more importantly, your Christmas savings.
That’s why in today’s post, we’re offering up our top tips so that you can avoid being blinded by the Black Friday frenzy, which has the power to twist the arms of even the most ruthless of budgeters. From setting a realistic budget to identifying the good deals from the bad, we’ll cover it all so that you enter the stores with the know-how on saving money at the forefront of your mind.
Defining a realistic budget
Retailers are capitalising on the popularity of Black Friday by extending their deals over the course of the weekend, which means it’s easier to overspend in the face of appealing discounts and bargains.
So, to avoid being tempted by bright banners and price reductions which endeavour to encourage wild spending, plan a sensible budget to help you stay on the right track. Firstly, we recommend making a list of exactly who you need to buy for, and what you’re planning to spend on each person. This way, you’ll avoid buying that unnecessary small gift which you didn’t originally plan for, solely justified by a 75% price reduction. Add up the exact total of what you’re expecting to spend, and stick to this final amount as a solid budget.
Most importantly, your budget should align with your income and outgoing expenses for the month. After all, if your budget is more than you can afford, you’ll be setting yourself up for a financial fail. Ideally, your Black Friday budget should fit within the surplus that you’ll have left at the end of the month. An efficient way to ensure that your Black Friday budget goes the distance is to start setting a small sum aside to create a monthly budget over the year. If you haven’t set funds aside this year, forward-planning this into next year is an effective budgeting technique that will pay off.
Set up price alerts
If you have presents in mind for those you need to buy for, then start by saving the items which you’ve had your eye on. Sites such as Amazon and Asos are equipped with tools which allow users to bookmark items on their account and return to them later – such as when they might be reduced in the Black Friday deals. This is a powerful way to deter yourself from impulse buying items and is a great way to put more thought into the gift that you’ll be giving.
Some sites also allow you to set up price drop alerts so that you’ll be notified when a discount is given to a specific item. If you’re shopping in-store, this is an effective way to shop efficiently by knowing exactly what you require and how much money you’re going to spend before even entering the door.
Bookmarking items ahead of the big day means that you’ll also have the opportunity to ask yourself if you need the item, as well as giving you the chance to check prices elsewhere – making this shopping hack one of the best ways to save money. After all, there’s no point investing your hard-earned cash in an item which is likely to sit gathering dust on a shelf hidden away.
Identify the good deals from the bad
In the frenzy of discounts accompanied by eye-catching marketing campaigns, it’s easy to lose track of where offers are coming from and how good the reduction actually is.
Recent research by Which? found that deals aren’t always as special as they first appear, with many products being able to be purchased for a lower cost at different times of the year. So, it’s best to carry out a small-scale investigation into the items that you’re expecting to buy according to your budget list and their price points at other times of the year. This way, you’ll save time browsing in shops and will be more likely to feel confident in the mindset that you’re getting a truly great deal.
It’s also efficient to check cashback apps and websites for the items that you’ll be purchasing this Black Friday. If you shop through these sites, you could earn points and even money on purchases that you may have already been making. However, to shop effectively, it’s essential that you stick to your budget list by only shopping for the items which you intended – this way, you’ll likely avoid those pesky unnecessary purchases.
With just a few weeks to go, now is the perfect time to start thinking about your Black Friday savings to avoid unnecessary stress and overspending. Planning with our money saving tips in mind will help you get the most from your Christmas savings and help you get a bargain that you can be proud of this year.