How I Plan for Black Friday (And Actually Save Money Instead of Panic-Buying 🤘)

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If you're anything like me, you love a good deal... but only if it’s 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 here’s how I make it work for me.

🆂🆃🅴🅿 1: 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗨𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗯𝗼𝘅 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿

Leading up to Black Friday, EVERY brand you’ve ever bought from (or even briefly flirted with at 2am) is going to email you. This is the perfect time to:

Unsubscribe from all the random brands you don’t want to hear from ever again.
Make a “Black Friday List” of the brands you do actually like, even if you didn’t purchase from them this year but might in the future.

This gives you targeted deals, not noise.

🆂🆃🅴🅿 2: 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗮 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘁

I keep a simple Google Sheet (photo attached) that I update year-round as new brands or ideas pop into my head. Things like:

“Oh, those leggings look amazing.”
“My friend had that travel bag -- I want that.”
“Ooh, a juicer… one day.”

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!)

🆂🆃🅴🅿 3: 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗔𝗻𝘆 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆

This year I had two bigger purchases in mind:

1. Luggage Upgrade

My carry-on ripped recently, and honestly… I’ve 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.

🆂🆃🅴🅿 4: 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 (𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝘁… 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆)

I gave myself $1,000 this year to spend on me. I went over by about $130 😅 mostly because I bought a more expensive suitcase AND the packing cubes to go with it (no regrets).

The point is: knowing your ballpark totals ahead of time prevents “big sticker shock” when the sales hit.

🆂🆃🅴🅿 5: 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗦𝗔

I’m not a fan of payment plans such Shop, Klarna, PayPal’s Pay-In-4, any of it.

BUT…

If you’re making one planned big purchase (like luggage or appliances), and you’ve already budgeted for it, they can soften the blow. The key: Don’t use payment plans for impulse buying. Use them for intentional purchases you prepared for.

🅱🅾🅽🆄🆂: 𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱

I also keep a Trello board called Future Purchases. It’s basically my way of keeping myself from buying dumb sh*t just because I saw it once and got excited.

If you want a full breakdown of that board (columns, system, screenshots, how I use it to curb impulse buying), just tell me, I’m happy to share!

Drop in the comments: 👇

🛍️ 𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘-𝙗𝙪𝙮?

✨ 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 #1 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬?

🔥 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙀𝙎𝙏 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙁𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙙?

I love good deal stories.

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