Today is Black Friday. We all know Black Friday as a day to score huge deals as the Christmas shopping season begins. To learn more about Black Friday, check out this post from Dictionary.com
The excitement has been building for months. Walmart had their Christmas stuff out before Halloween. Not long after, Amazon and all the other online stores began hinting at upcoming deals.
Amazon and its online friends weren’t satisfied with just Black Friday, so we now have Cyber-Monday as well. Deals everywhere.
Amazon
Here’s what Amazon’s home page looks like for me today.
You gotta hand it to Amazon. They know what I’ve bought recently, what I’ve searched for….are they standing behind me now???
Amazon shows me a unique home page with deals on the types of things they know that I’m interested in. Anyone who read my ball-hawking post knows why I looked at the Chaos colored golf balls…
Deals, Deals, Deals
Deals are everywhere. “New Deals, Just In“. You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a deal. I mentioned in a post earlier this week that I saved $50 on a Black Friday deal for a hearing aid streamer.
The streamer was something I planned to buy, and I came across a deal. Cool – savings.
But often, this isn’t the case. For me, more often, I see these teasers from Amazon and I buy something I looked at but had no real need for just because it’s on sale. How about that new Husqvarna Power Axe 350i Cordless Electric Chainsaw? I had a problem with an oil leak on mine over the summer. 21% off. Let’s buy it!
It’s only $379. And I can have it on Sunday without leaving my chair. I love Black Friday.
Take a Breath
I did. I took a quick look then reminded myself I only use my chainsaw once or twice a year. It leaks a little bar and chain oil, but no big deal. I can live with that.
I also took a brief look at Hulu. They offer a year of Hulu streaming with ads for 99 cents per month. I actually did this one last year and my wife and I streamed quite a few shows, but ultimately the ads drove us batshit crazy and we went back to Netflix.
But 99 cents…and look at these other deals – we could seriously upgrade our streaming (courtesy of Tom’s guide).
But after being dazzled by the deals, I remembered that we have too much to watch right now. I don’t need more choices and it may just stress me out.
Advertisers and Scammers
I’ve been doing some volunteer work helping folks who have been scammed. I’m realizing that advertisers and scammers have a lot in common. Dangle something we want in front of us and create a false sense of urgency. Works almost every time.
I’m laughing as I write this. I see a Black Friday deal at the bottom of my blog page from the SEO service I use.
But What’s The Deal?
But, I promised a Black Friday Deal. In fact, I promised The Best Black Friday Deal. Here it is. Log off.
It’s a beautiful day. Go for a walk. Rosco and I are going to the local bike path shortly. Do something fun. Skip the deals.
If you need something, yeah, maybe this is a good time to buy and kudos to you if you’ve had something on your list and have waited for Black Friday to save a few bucks.
But more often than not, I find that I buy stuff I don’t need and I end up regretting the purchase.
Wrap-Up
We buy a lot of stuff. I’m as guilty as anyone. I’m aware and I try and slow down.
Years ago, my family put the brakes on Christmas. We still buy for the kids, but for the adults, we put the names in a hat and each person draws one name at Thanksgiving. We buy for this person and no one else.
At first I thought this was crazy. I began to realize that it ended a lot of stress and unwanted gifts. Christmas became a lot more enjoyable.
My wife and I have 2 grandchildren. When they were born, we opened up a 529 for each of them. They get a monthly contribution in lieu of gifts. My daughter and son in law are appreciative. There are too many gifts as it is, and we can’t even imagine what college will cost in 2040.
And as I write, this shows up in my email:
They’re Finally Here. Sense of urgency – act now or miss out.
The pressure to buy is everywhere. I’ve found that tuning out, and passing can be pretty rewarding. I have too much stuff.