Post-COVID Black Friday shopping

After the financial threats and distresses we faced this year, and the financial uncertainties many are still struggling with, Black Friday Shopping may not appear on people’s to-do lists. But Black Friday discounts are real, and every wise and prudent shopper should take advantage of them in a planned and disciplined way.

Black Friday, the day after the US Thanksgiving holiday, is the first day of the shopping season that conventionally ends on Christmas Eve. Retailers traditionally slash their prices and shoppers go into a frenzy buying things they otherwise could not afford. Many people buy all their Christmas gifts at this time.

Post-lockdown, we now realise the need for greater financial discipline, spending restraints and increased savings. We must continue in this trajectory of heightened financial prudence if we want to attain our financial and wealth goals. Yet, we can still take advantage of the bargains that Black Friday sales offer through planned and budgeted spending. Ensure money is not diverted from important things into things that we do not need but are only drawn to because of the so-called price slash. If you do not need to buy something, no matter how much of a bargain it is, it is financial indiscipline. However, this does not exclude luxury items and occasional indulgences. We work hard, we deserve the occasional extravagance. But note the word – occasional. And even these luxury purchases should be planned. We must avoid spontaneous shopping. The problem with impulsive spending is not always the items purchased, it is the fact that the spending is unplanned and therefore throws our financial budgets out of sync and delays the achievement of our financial goals.

We plan by identifying the items we want and save towards their purchase. Ordinarily, we should begin saving early using target savings accounts or sinking funds. These savings should be incorporated into our monthly spending budgets. Open a new savings account or use one in a bank you do not usually patronie. Reject the 21st century banking conveniences like debit cards, mobile banking etc. so you are not easily tempted to spend the money on other things. Set up a standing order from your main bank account to credit the sinking fund with the periodic savings amounts – this way the savings are automatic and not subject to your changing moods or circumstances. Choose a transfer date that is as close to your monthly salary date as possible. This way, you save first and spend what is left. Most people fail at savings because they spend first and try to save what is left, but often discover that there is never anything left to save after spending. Always save before spending. However, the COVID fallout may have prevented us from having the extra to save.

Those of us who were adversely affected by the lockdown may need to exercise delayed gratification and skip this year’s Black Friday shopping. The concept of delayed gratification has almost become taboo in today’s world of instant coffee, instant banking, and instant shopping. However, everyone committed to financial prosperity must master delayed gratification in order to overcome the attractions of spontaneous shopping.

Avoid using shopping as a pastime. Visit shopping malls with purpose, do not just wander in especially during the Black Friday sales. Go in with a shopping list, buy the things on your list and leave the mall. Do not take all your payment cards with you, take only the one with the funds required for the purchases. Leave the cellphone registered with your bank for mobile payments at home or even in the car. By the time you leave the store to get your phone or additional payment cards, usually the impulse for the spontaneous shopping has ebbed. Pay attention whilst paying for the discounted goods; ensure the prices displayed have been entered into the shop’s cash register, that you are being charged the new low promotional prices and not the old higher ones. Also, it is wise to set a spending limit for all Black Friday purchases. Share this limit with a financially prudent friend who can help monitor your compliance.

To help you remain disciplined, avoid eating at restaurants located within shopping malls during the sales period, go to the cinema after malls have closed or choose standalone cinemas. However, in these days of e-commerce, Black Friday sales adverts are already popping up on our phones and computers. Spending limits monitored by shrewd friends would help us maintain our financial discipline even in cyberspace. Remember to also exercise caution and protect your financial information when shopping online.

Happy shopping. Happy investing.

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