Black Friday brings back a lot of good memories.
On Thanksgiving Day, my mom and I would look at the sales papers and create a plan of attack with other family members before going home and getting dressed for the following morning.
Black Friday mornings consisted of standing outside in disrespectful temperatures, laughing amongst ourselves, and praying the lines would move rapidly so we could get our precious advertised goods. After a long morning of shopping, we would head to our favorite restaurant, fuel up, and repeat our shopping strategies over again until late that Friday evening.
This is how I want to remember it.
These are precious memories I hold dear to my heart, but I am not above saying this, I was financially naive.
I was in my early twenties and lacked a lot of good common sense. I was in college, living off student loans, with no consistent income. I was out spending what little money I had, in addition to whatever my mother could scrounge up. Oh, and let’s not forget the credit cards. It was all good fun while it lasted, but ten years later I now know better.
I no longer venture out to the stores to purchase a bunch of things I no longer need or really want. I stay at home, in my warm house, with a bunch of food, and my television. I enjoy that extra day off from work, all with the peace of mind that comes from knowing I’m not out spending my good hard earned money on a bunch of stuff.
So, I won’t continue harping on why I think Black Friday Shopping is a waste of my time, I want to share with you a few things you could do instead of going shopping on Black Friday.
Declutter
This is the perfect day to get your house ready for the influx of things your kids will seem to collect over the holiday season. Friends, grandparents, schools, you name it – my daughter comes home with all kinds of stuff during December.
I start decluttering her room first. I start by throwing out all of the broken things that can’t be repaired. Next, I grab a box and put any toys she no longer is interested in playing with to the side for donation. Last, I go through all of her clothes to make sure she can wear them. If not, I prepare them for consignment. Which leads to my next point…
Sell Stuff
Walmart, Best Buy, and Target don’t have to be the only ones making money on Black Friday – you can too!
There is a consignment shop for children where I take all of my kid’s older, gently used clothing to called Once Upon A Time. I use the funds I earn from selling their clothes to find them other gently used clothing in the same store or I’ll purchase clearance clothes at major retailers for the upcoming season.
Since you’re already decluttering, visit your local consignment stores and make some money off things you no longer need. If you don’t have any consignment stores you can always try Ebay or Craigslist.
Begin Hustling
If you’re like me, your company gives you a nice paid day off on Black Friday, so why not use this day to your advantage?
Maybe you’ve been wanting to start a side hustle and haven’t had the time to commit to researching or starting one. Extra paid holidays are hard to come by so use this day to start hustling.
Writing, blogging, or an off-line hustle…use this day to research. Use this day to start writing. If you are productive, you may even earn a little income before the end of the year.
Negotiate
Most people wouldn’t think about calling their cable or cell phone providers on this day, but this would be the perfect day to call them. No company wants to lose business on Black Friday, so they may be a little more accommodating with any new budget constraints you present to them.
Tell them you need to lower your bill by “x” amount or you may have to move on due to budgetary constraints.
Now I do want to warn you, calling a company on Black Friday comes with risks. They may try to upsell you or convince you of something you don’t need. Stick to your guns and follow through, you aren’t calling to spend money, but save money!
Do Nothing
This is my plan for Black Friday 2015.
I want to do absolutely nothing! No cleaning, no working, nothing! I am going to sit around and watch Netflix, Hulu, or DVD’s. I will probably make this day a cheat day (eat whatever I feel like) and I’ll also get in some much-needed snuggle time with my husband and kids.
What do you plan to do on Black Friday?
Also, if you are venturing out, I’m sure you have a well thought out plan and good reasoning for going…so please feel free to share what deal will have you out on the busiest shopping day of the year!