Since Black Friday’s arrival in the UK in 2010, the annual sales event which takes place on the last Friday of November has become extremely popular with consumers and retailers alike. Retail giant Amazon reported record-breaking worldwide sales of £4.8 billion in 2020.
With so many ‘amazing deals’ and ‘big savings’ on offer, it’s no surprise many people steer off course and end up going over budget.
Here are some helpful tips to keep you grounded on Friday 26th November.
Plan your spend
Create a wishlist of things you would like to purchase. This will give you focus and can stop you from being lured into buying something you don’t want or need.
Do your research
There are so many deals it can be overwhelming. Popular news outlets often do ‘best deals on Black Friday’ features or product comparisons across retailers. Try typing ‘Best Black Friday deals 2021’ into your search engine, this will help you cut through the noise and find the right deal for you.
When doing your research it is also worth checking the price history of a product to gauge how much of a bargain you are bagging. In 2020, Which? found that 85% of products in the Black Friday sales had already been available for the same price or in some cases, less, in the six months leading up to the sale.
Set yourself a budget
You’ve got your wishlist, you’ve done the research, now you just need to set a budget. Work out what you have left after you have paid all your bills and living expenses. This is your Black Friday Budget, keep this amount in mind when shopping.
Using a budgeting tool similar to Moneyhub, which automatically calculates your income and your outgoings, means that you can see exactly how much money you have leftover to spend.
Give yourself time
What a difference a few days can make, give yourself thinking time to help you beat any impulsive spending urges.
Most retailers start their Black Friday deals several weeks before the actual event begins, this is a great opportunity for you to get a clear idea of the offers available.
Once you have your eye on something, put yourself in time out and ask yourself two questions;
Before today, had I thought about purchasing an item like this before?
Will I still be using this product and getting value from it six months or one years time?
When taking time out, ignore phrases such as ‘limited time only’ or price drop countdowns, these are tactics put in place by retailers to pressure you into your purchase.
Take what you need
You may remember the videos that went viral several years ago of customers clamoring over one another at store entrances or playing tug of war over discounted TVs.
Fortunately, Black Friday is now a much more civilised event, with the reported hike in sales last year being attributed to people choosing to shop online from the comfort of their homes. However, you can still take advantage of Black Friday sales and get find some excellent deals in stores.
The benefit of going to a physical store instead of shopping online means you can take a limited amount of money, either on a pre-paid card or cash. This is a sure-fire way to stop you from overspending.
Stay Safe
If you do choose to shop online, before entering sensitive information such as payment details, always check for the padlock icon in the website address bar.
This will help you avoid fraudulent websites that have been built specifically to con Black Friday customers into handing over their details.
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