How I Plan for Black Friday (And Actually Save Money Instead of Panic-Buying ๐ค)
If you're anything like me, you love a good deal... but only if itโs actually a deal. There are 361 days until it pops up again, so the time to plan is NOW! Here's the truth: Black Friday can either be your financial best friend or a chaotic, inbox-flooded disaster. So hereโs how I make it work for me. ๐๐๐
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ฟ 1: ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป ๐จ๐ฝ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ฏ๐ผ๐
๐๐น๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ Leading up to Black Friday, EVERY brand youโve ever bought from (or even briefly flirted with at 2am) is going to email you. This is the perfect time to: 1. Unsubscribe from all the random brands you donโt want to hear from ever again. 2. Make a โBlack Friday Listโ of the brands you do actually like, even if you didnโt purchase from them this year but might in the future. This gives you targeted deals, not noise. ๐๐๐
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ฟ 2: ๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ด๐น๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ I keep a simple Google Sheet (photo attached) that I update year-round as new brands or ideas pop into my head. Things like: - โOh, those leggings look amazing.โ - โMy friend had that travel bag -- I want that.โ - โOoh, a juicerโฆ one day.โ Everything goes in the sheet with columns for: - Company - Item - Budget - Actual Price Paid - Purchased (Y/N) - Notes It keeps me organized, intentional, and out of impulse-buy territory (I have another hack for this, too!) ๐๐๐
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ฟ 3: ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ ๐๐ป๐ ๐๐ถ๐ด ๐ฃ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ This year I had two bigger purchases in mind: 1. Luggage Upgrade My carry-on ripped recently, and honestlyโฆ Iโve wanted a hard-shell, spinner-wheel suitcase for YEARS. Black Friday was the perfect time. 2. My Kuvings Juicer This juicer has been on my wish list forever and the price has been climbing. I ended up getting it for basically the price it was three years ago when I first wanted it. THAT is a Black Friday win. ๐๐๐
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ฟ 4: ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ๐ (๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ผ ๐๐โฆ ๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐น๐) I gave myself $1,000 this year to spend on me. I went over by about $130 ๐
mostly because I bought a more expensive suitcase AND the packing cubes to go with it (no regrets).