Even though this article will go up after Black Friday, let’s talk about it. Think of this article as advice for next year’s Black Friday: Do You Really Need to Shop Till You Drop?
I’m sure many of you have already participated in it this year, and here’s a secret…. I did too. Now, I don’t protest Black Friday, however, “celebrating” my second one properly definitely got me thinking. Is Black Friday really worth it? Is all the hustle and bustle or the gimmick worth the time and money? Most of these things you could find online without the hassle of in-person shopping. If you want to take more precautions with social distancing and avoiding COVID, online shopping for next Black Friday might be the way to go.
For example, I checked out the Black Friday deals in H&M, but there were not that many eye-catching or must-need items being displayed. There were about only two blouses I had my eyes on but with the gigantic line and only 30% off select styles, I decided to save my money for elsewhere. In the car, I checked to see if they had those specific items online but I couldn’t find them for some reason. Instead, I picked out two other blouses that checked off all the boxes in my “Oh my gosh I NEED this” list. These items were marked down more than half off, and the confirmation email alerted me that those items would be shipped in only three days. This all happened within 10 minutes and I thought to myself, “That was so much easier!”
However while in the mall, some of these Black Friday sales or prices I was seeing were not even discounted as much as I thought they were. Some stores I had walked into only discounted SELECT styles while some were not even advertising a sale and only a certain percentage of their clearance section. But still, people were still buying from these stores! The more I was in the mall feeling the adrenaline and excitement of finally buying a new item after a long time, I wanted to keep buying MORE. My bank account couldn’t afford this! Nor did my wardrobe need new clothing pieces that I might not even WEAR anytime soon. But, I succumbed to the Black Friday fever and unfortunately bought more items.
When I looked hard enough, especially at the stores I trust and love, I found some pretty decent sales that did not break the bank. As a broke college student, I don’t get to spend my money as much as I used to. Which I’m grateful for because now I have a better relationship with money. Black Friday is really beneficial if you know how to shop practically and if you can locate extra deals such as coupons or a buy one get one half off sale. Those pesky emails you get from your favorite stores, keep them and have them handy for Black Friday! Every try is worth it, and don’t be afraid to ask a salesperson for help or information about an item or sale going on. You want to save as much money as you possibly can because these deals won’t show up later down the road.
To be honest, Black Friday culture is a little overrated. Some of those doorbusters you look forward to waking up at 4 AM for, are simply just useless items in order to lure you to spending money you don’t have. The horror stories of Black Friday too are insane! People camping out for flat-screen TVs, crowds trampling over each other for designer handbags, and even other customers cutting in front of you in line to pay first shows you how much we have the over-commercialized culture of Black Friday. Black Friday now lasts for 3 whole days, and after that, there’s a whole day dedicated to Cyber Monday! Crazy right? But, I mean it’s the holidays, isn’t everything supposed to be commercialized?
Black Friday is a “holiday” packed with mixed emotions, some people take it seriously and others do not. At the mall, there were so many people in their pajamas looking to pass time with their family and escape the stress of having the family together at Thanksgiving from the day before. Others seemed as if they were there since 6 AM hitting their last store for the day ready to go home to wrap their items up as presents for the upcoming Christmas season.
In my opinion, be smart about your Black Friday shopping. I walked into the mall thinking that I needed to save my money and not treat myself to a new shirt, but at the end of the day, I came back home with 2 bags full of “cheap” items. Things added up, and I probably shouldn’t have spent as much as I did but it was Black Friday, I saved money… right? Next time, I advise you to check out online deals stores have before making that long trek all the way to your local outlet stores or shopping mall. Some of these deals can be deceiving or just hype up the product too much to appeal “cheaper and better” to customers. Instead of spending the entire day at the mall in bombarding crowds, maybe you can dedicate the day to a family activity or start a new tradition with a loved one. So when the next Black Friday comes around, reconsider the advice I just told you and ask yourself “Do I really need to shop till I drop?”