I’m grateful for the people who take the time to read my weekly musings about life from where I sit. This past week, a colleague asked if I shopped on black Friday and my affirmative response was a surprise to her. She found what I had to say about taking advantage of the opportunity to save money for the entire year worth sharing with my readers in my blog this week. So, I hope you find it helpful to you and your family as well.
I take a different view about Black Friday than some people in that it’s first and foremost about stretching dollars I can afford to spend on things I actually want to purchase for myself and others for the entire year, not just the holidays. This takes planning and a bit of research before Black Friday. I write a list and then I find out which store will give me the best deal for what I want. I have annual purchases that save me money.
Every year I purchase 1000 piece puzzles and App Store/iTunes gift cards at Target as well as door buster toys to donate. I purchase these gift cards because they have a buy one, get one for 30% off. I usually buy several packages that contain multiple $10 gift cards. In addition, I use my Target debit card for an additional 5% off. A bonus is that on Black Friday when you spend $50 or more, you get a 20% off coupon for another shopping trip. I use these gift cards for myself throughout the year and as gifts.
My other annual gift card purchases on Black Friday are Cheesecake Factory gift cards because they double the number of free cheesecake slices from one card per $25 to two. I love the Cheesecake Factory and so I purchase the gifts cards for me to use throughout the year as well as a few to give as gifts. Last year I ended up giving away about 20 free cheesecake slices which cost about $9.00 each. The only catch is that the cheesecake slice cards expire on March 31st. My husband and I enjoyed dessert a couple of times ourselves this year.
I’ll be adding Wood Ranch barbecue restaurant to my gift card purchases this year because they’re giving $10 promotion cards for every $50 in gift cards purchased. We visit that restaurant about six times a year, so the gift cards won’t go to waste. Again, the promotion cards expire on March 31st, so I will likely only purchase two gift cards.
I’ve always been an early riser, so sitting outside the door of a Best Buy at 4am in years past was not a challenge for me. I may not need anything from Best Buy this year, but those door busters are worth the savings. These days I visit Kohl’s on Thanksgiving night for gifts and staples like bedroom slippers, exercise wear, shawls or sweaters, pajamas, underwear, jewelry and toys to donate. The door busters plus coupons and the extra in Kohl’s cash ($15 instead of $10 per $50) make it worthwhile. I use the Kohl’s cash the following Saturday for more gifts that are on sale. Saturday is the best day to shop at Kohl’s.
Another favorite on Thursday evening or Black Friday is Michael’s. They have huge door busters and usually a coupon for an extra $25% off everything. I like fancy Christmas ribbon and I usually walk away spending $3 per spool instead of $10. I don’t need much these days by way of decorations, but in the past, I purchased a lot of items during this time, especially adding to my collection of 10″ black Santas that actually resemble my husband golfing, fishing, hunting, cooking, etc. I paid about $8 instead of $30 each for them after all the discounts on Black Friday.
So, there you have it. I don’t do much on-line during the holidays these days because I don’t need much. I’m thinking about purchasing a new iRobot Roomba vacume, and replacing my Magic Bullet and George Foreman Grill. Both are nearly worn out and this is the best time of the year to purchase all three items. One regret I have is not being able to save additional money when we got rid of our cable data boxes and replaced all six of them Ruko sticks. Yes, we saved $48 each month on those boxes because of the Ruko sticks, but they are a really good deal this Black Friday, each costing about $10 less than I paid for them at Target and Amazon. Not waiting saved us more in the long run, but I hate that I couldn’t get that additional $60 savings.
It should be evident by now that the start of the holiday shopping season for me is less about Christmas and more about the opportunity to stretch my hard earned dollars. The more I save, the more I get to save, and the more I get to give to the needy. To me, that’s just being fiscally responsible. Happy Black Friday.