When it comes to buying Christmas presents. Black Friday is an important day as ever, especially as this strange period is putting a lot of financial stress on families. It seems the ideal time to buy presents for the ones we love and it really is, but it can also be financially risky if you don’t plan ahead. Here’s 7 ideas that could help reduce the Black Friday stress and will help maximise your shopping Budget.
1. Be realistic with your finances.
The worst thing you could do is go into Black Friday blind. If you don’t set limits you will get your self In trouble. So many people get themselves into debt because they haven’t set a budget limit.
Sit down, look at your finances and be honest. If you buy little Jonny a Ps5 will that set you up for financial issues in the near or far future. Thinking so practically about may seem like your being a bit of a killjoy, but it’s just not worth putting extra stress on your finances when there may be other options.
We have a free Black Friday planner that might come in useful, down below. Download it and see if it can help you save money like our family did. Print it out and pop it on your fridge and your ready to go.
2. Plan, Plan, Plan
How much are you spending and specifically who on. The worst thing you can do is wake up the morning of Black Friday, turn on the computer and shop. That's where the expenditures add up. We like to use a poster stuck on the fridge where we can know for sure who we are buying for, how much we plan and a total where we can see exactly how much we spent. Here's the one we use
If you want to make the most out of Black Friday planning ahead is the only way to go.
3. Shopping alerts and keeping items in your basket.
We all forget items in our basket, weather that's leaving with the intention of going back later, or having the sad realisation that you can’t quite afford what you were planning to Buy. However you can use this to your advantage. Some sites will delete the items in your baskets after a while, but lots will let you leave items in there as long as you like and even better will alert you if the price of items in the basket goes down.
Emails from companies can be a pain. But sometime, just sometimes they can be really useful. Signing up for emails from stores around this time of year can be a really useful way to make sure you don’t miss out on deals.
4. Don’t panic and be patient..... sometimes
Yes i know, that heading is a lot confusing. What I’m trying to get at is that the offers available right now might not be the best as it may come down later. On the flip side the deal you see might just be the best it will ever be. It’s a fine line to tread and there really is perfect way to judge it. Whatever happens stay positive. If you do end up paying a little more for something it’s really not the end of the world and of course you can always return them, which leads us to.......
5. Make sure you know those return policy's
There are many reasons why you might want to return an item. Maybe it’s the wrong size, or maybe you’ve decided that it’s put you too much over your budget. Either way it’s important to know exactly how and when you can return an an item as there's nothing worse than blowing your budget just because you can’t bring back those shoes that don’t fit mum. Another good tip is to ask for gift receipts. Often this means an extended return time and also means that whoever you are buying for can get that same value paid to use on another item from that store.
6. Cashback sites and apps
There’s nothing like getting cash back on items. It’s super easy and you can get going straightaway. All have different variations like scanning a receipt, or getting an instant cash back. Which ever one you choose it’s a great way to build up that budget. Here's some that we think you might like. Top cash back
7. And finally, save a little for Cyber Monday Its hard to say which is better but it might be a good idea to hold back a little of your budget for the Monday. Previous years have proven that Cyber Monday can be a real goldmine for finding a bargain.
When it comes down to getting your moneys worth on Black Friday is not an exact science, but these tips should give you an advantage.
Good luck and good shopping and don't forget to check out our ever growing free money saving resource library.
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