Change The Color of Black Friday!

Panic and the fear of missing out are what make Black Friday what it is. This article shows you how to navigate it as best you can as a consumer, and leave with actual bargains instead of a series of impulse purchases you are likely to regret later down the road!

Go in with a plan

As with any large purchases, it is prudent to go into Black Friday with a plan if you do not intend to have problems with your credit card bill later down the line.

If you know you need to buy some larger items such as white goods or audio-visual products, start your research a few months before the noise of Black Friday even gets started. By doing so you can keep an eye on prices and see whether some good discounts come up during November.

Adopting this strategy will help you twofold. First, it will help focus you on what you really need, and reduce the risk of impulse temptation. Second, it will tell you whether the prices being loudly touted as bargains during the Black Friday period actually are that at all.

You should also split out what you need compared to what you want. It may sound obvious, but writing this down and putting some thought into it can help you challenge yourself with your purchases.

Keep tabs on a few retailers

You will get a lot of marketing before and during the Black Friday period. Keep an eye on a few retailers you shop at regularly.

When you do so, try not to get drawn into the hype. Instead, use the retailers’ social media networks to compare prices, and see what kind of bargains are shaping up for products you actually need.

Shop online as you would instore

Shopping online can make it even easier to get lulled into impulse purchases. You often see a countdown clock for time-limited offers. Making payments without even having to pull out your credit card can make it even more tempting to make purchases instantaneously.

To even things up, shop online in the same way you would shop in person. Arrange a Black Friday online shopping session with a friend instead of shopping alone. This can help you to challenge each other on your purchases, and see if you can find better deals for each other.

Once you have got to a retailers’ website, make sure you go straight to what you are looking for. The homepage is the same as the shop window in a physical store, so try to avoid dwelling on there for too long.

Get ready to roll

When you have done your research and are ready for everything Black Friday has to throw at you, make sure you have your accounts and passwords to hand for the retailers’ websites. Because of the volume of traffic, retailers’ sites can sometimes crash during the Black Friday period.

Having your account ready to go reduces your risk of fumbling around trying to access it at the time and wasting all your hard work with research!

Article by Born Realist