Score Big, Spend Less - Surviving Black Friday
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Americans spent nine point eight billion with a babb A B dollars online shopping on black friday. I am so sorry, but final sale is literally a catch all term in my mind for sm.

What's average friends on your host living into A, K, U, H, B, F, F and your favorite all regarded. And welcome back to another episode of netware and chill today. We are talking about the holiday says on, and we are in the thick of IT.

And that can only mean one thing, shopping and lots of IT. Black friday is coming up right around the corner. And this time can be a time where we spend a lot more than we mean to.

And I have definitely been there. I've been duped into some sales that ended up being bad deals for stuff that I didn't really even want, that I spent money that I didn't really even have. So this episode is as much for me as IT is for you. We're going to go over some tips and tricks I used to shop major holiday sales without feeling like I need to buy everything. And let's first start with a horrific stat.

Americans spent nine point eight billion with a 8BAB dollars online shopping on black friday。 I was nine billion of those dollars just getting um but seriously, I feel like this is a time where I lose all financial literacy sense and I see the slash markings on all the Prices or the red text and suddenly I just need to have IT all so ahead of telling you the tips and tricks on how to shop smarter, I am going to a tone for my sins and tell you some of the best deals i've ever gotten on black friday as well as three of the worst things i've ever spent money on. So of the three best things that I have ever purchased on a black friday sale, first and foremost, I got a discounted salvator for gma wallet for boo for Christmas.

I bought IT during black friday when all of these big box retailers, specifically like a sacks and blooming dales and nord stream, were having these massive sales. And because these big box retailers have like overarching sales that don't apply to just anyone brand, I was actually able to get a designer product for a really nice Price. And I saved IT.

I hit IT. And this was when boo and I first started dating. So this was like a very high ticket item. I was really excited to give IT to him.

He ended up loving IT and up using for five years until IT completely fell apart because of just the number of cards that have been stuck into IT. So not only was IT a really cool purchase, IT was also a really practical one. The second best thing I ever bought on a black friday sale was a espresso machine um for my sister in law.

Again another holiday present. Um but the specific reason why this was such a hit was one because I got IT on sale on black friday. But also I don't know what happened to this oppressive machine.

IT must have like fAllen off of the truck on you know the way on amazon's way to her apartment or her house because IT never turned up and because of that, I ended up calling amazon and contacting them and being like this literally never showed up to my inlaws place um because my mother in law and father in law they typically rapped. We shipped their house and they wrapped the presence and so they actually ended up sending a second espresso machine. And then weeks and weeks and weeks later, the original expresso machine turned up.

So we ended up getting to express the machines for the Price of one. And now my mother in law also has the same, a spress the machine. And I was the hero of Christmas that year.

And last and at least the third best thing I ever bought on black friday was actually not a thing at all. Um IT was an experience. I bought flights for early the following year to europe, and this is my senior year of college.

I am up spending three weeks popping around europe because I took the last quarter. You should go out on a quarter, not semester system. I took a last quarter off, so was able to save on tuition and my school fees.

And that money ended up helping to fund a fun little euro trip that I got to take as a solo traveller, solo backpacker um before I graduated. So that was a really, really nice experience that I was able to fund at a discount. But let's move on to the really exciting part.

Let's talk about the mistakes i've made, the three worst things that i've ever bought. First and foremost, final sale. anything.

I am so sorry, but final sale is literally a catch all term in my mind for sm because either it's not going to fit the materials, going to suck, the quality is going to be bad, it's not going to be as advertised, something is going to be wrong with this final sale item and you will not get your money back. And so I feel like I have had to learn this lesson over and over and over again. And now that i'm thirty, I feel like i'm finally there.

I finally understand especially for high and designers who usually don't do discounts when they actually write down some of the Prices for their products on black friday, they will use that as an excuse to fuck you like you are not getting your money back. Something is going to be weird or wrong about IT don't buy final sale pieces unless you sure unless you've already seen IT in person. But as an online shopper for me, when I see the words a final sale, I see no go up next, uh, bulky furniture or home stuff.

Uh reason being you'll actually find Better deals around presidents day in february um because there are just Better time to buy stuff for indoor furniture. The best time to buy is typically january and february or August and september. These months typically are when the retailers discount old stock to make room for new styles.

You can also find good deals during holiday weekends, again, like I mentioned, president day and labor day. And then for outdoor furniture, the best time to buy outdoor furniture is actually in late summer and earlier fall, just because once the hot months go by, people have already enjoyed the outdoor furniture from this past year, so people really aren't inking about buying new furniture. As you get closer and closer to the end of the year, next year, stock is starting to come out.

So again, you're going to be missing out on some of those discounts um because demand for outdoor furniture is least at the tail end of summer. That's when I would get um your best deals. And then for my third worst purchase, I would say an impulse by listen, I I understand the irony that you guys are caring right now because I started my career on social media.

But if you can, during the week of thanksgiving, do your best to limit your social media exposure, because you are going to be served non stop instagram ads and tiktok shop ads for stuff you probably don't need. And Frankly, these days, if you are buying something on an impulse and then you decide you don't want IT anymore, if you are lucky enough to even be able to return IT, you're probably got have to pay a restocking fee. So you're not actually going to get one hundred percent of your money back.

So what i'll say is just don't buy stuff to buy IT. Um it'll still cost you money to return IT. Frankly, when you are shopping on black friday, you want to be a super calculated surgical experience so that you have already done your research, you know exactly what you're getting and you know exactly where you're getting IT from, so you don't just get duped into stuff.

really. Last minute and again talking about irony ahead of the tips. I do want to dress. I find IT really funny that black friday falls directly after thanksgiving, because thanksgiving is a holiday entirely dedicated to celebrating what we have, being grateful to have family and community and being thankful for this delicious food that you're about to share with your loved ones. And that just slide strait into the most capitalistic tic consumerism, heskey, that is black friday.

And I say that again, a bit tongue cheek because I am not immune to the law of a black friday sale. But IT is the singular day after thanksgiving. And it's so funny because nowadays black friday doesn't actually start the friday after thanksgiving anymore.

Suddenly your cnd sales pop up the monday before thanksgiving or maybe even the week prior. And I don't know how sitting around the table in front of a turkey and pumpkin pie turned into two weeks of non stop shopping and spending your money like it's going out of style. It's literally a benza to get your money out the door.

And so now suddenly it's starting at the beginning, the week or the week prior IT leads well into the following week with a cyber monday travel booking tuesday. Yes, giving tuesday has been replaced by travel booking tuesday. And you're just grasping for these last winter sales ahead of the holiday, which is not always a bad thing.

You're going to be able to get a good deal. But I do want us to really rethink our consumption ahead of the holidays, because sometimes IT may actually just be Better to put your phone down and spend the last few hours of that special thanksgiving with the people you care most about. But let's talk a little bit about how you can actually win black friday.

Yes, win black friday, my friends, is a game. A I want you to make an excell sheet. I do this every single year and you need to start doing this like now um you make an excel sheet of what you need or want what IT costs now and what you think IT will cost on black friday.

And I say needs specifically because I do think black friday is a good time to pick up things you need. So whether that be home appliances that I need to be replaced, whether that is new winter clothing, if your coat has a hole in IT, like true needs this a great time to get them. Also, you are allowed to want stuff like, we work so hard for the money that we make so that we can enjoy IT. I don't want you to feel like you are not allowed to to spend money, but this excell, he is going to be really, really helpful.

And aside from just the name of the item, the stories from what IT costs now and what you think it'll cost on black friday, also, if you're shopping online, pace the you are well there so that you can find IT easily and quickly so that you don't lose time because I do recognize that some of these sale items go fast and furiously and you're gone to hear this podcast and some of you are going to be a little late on getting to the item that you want and then it's going to be sold out and you're gona hold that against me. So I want to make sure that you have the opportunity to get what you want. Um but this is going to help you surgically check off the items that you actually plan on purchasing and make sure that you're budget actually fulfills that need, something that I like to do and it's a little late this year, but you can certainly do IT for next year.

I started thinking fu N D, A couple months ahead of the black friday sales, and i'm setting aside twenty to fifty bucks every single week to say, hey, this is my play money. This is money that I am going to use to spend and enjoy myself on black friday, because I don't want to take hundreds of dollars out of my bank account just that one day, and then feel overwhelmed that I made a bad decision and can make some more of those necessary payments in my life happen. So thinking funds are really, really good for that purpose.

But having this list is also going to help you be really methodical, because what you don't want to do is fair around on your cell phone or on your laptop the day of black friday or the week of black friday because you're just going to be tempted more and more and more. And the first tip I want to give you guys is something that I have been doing, and I can't believe i'm about to share this. Could I have been trying to gate keep this, but at the beginning of that week, take the items that you want, put them into your digital card and on websites that you already have an account with, whether be like a revolve or something like make sure you're log in, make sure this company knows your email, you are going to log in and you are going to put your thing in your car, and then you are going to abandoned IT.

Because, guess what, so many brands, knowing that they have you on the hook, are going to send you an email with a small discount code. And this isn't gonna be like a uh, a discount code that can be used by anyone. It's going to be a one of those like really long twenty digit number letter ones that exclusive to you, you are going to get a special secret discount for having abandoned your cart.

And typically, this discount ends unique to you can actually be stacked on top of broader savings that you will find later in the week. So abandoning your car is actually a really good idea. And not to mention it'll r be in your car so if you need to check out that day IT R B T up so it'll be quick ready to go.

Um I actually did this on called gua, which is a pretty pricy, higher and sight. And they offered me temperament off and ten percent off of, you know, uh, a really, really nice five hundred dollar dress is fifty dollars. And that's a lot of money.

So just make sure that you are taking advantage of an abandoned cart. Furthermore, I highly, highly recommend that you tap into a cash back APP. Yes, I am the queen of cash back.

I like to double dip. First and foremost, I like to get cash back on my credit cards. If you are a heavy spender at certain retailers, they may have credit cards that give you extra points against those places. For example, credit cards that give you extra rewards for shopping on amazon.

What have you um but aside from just your credit card giving you rewards points for your spending and making sure that you are responsibly paid off, every single month, you can tap into something like iraqi R A K U T E N, like a honey extension or dosh D O S H um these are cash back apps and they are filly at website. So essentially what you do is either you go to the website racket and honey or dosh and then you can actually navigate to where you want to shop and you will automatically be able to provide you with cash back. Or you can do what I do and get a like a google chrome extension like a plugging in.

And whenever i'm about to check out, it'll say, don't forget like you make sure to get cash back with whatever and then I can just click a button that is in my actual browser and this gives me cash back. And this has been so immensely helpful. Um uh two black fridays ago I actually bought a mattress.

Um IT was a purple mattress. I ve never seen IT discounted that deeply but I bought IT off of macy stock com and because again, big box retailer I was able to get ten percent cash back from macy, which was a huge amount on a mattress is a thousand dollar mattress. So I saved a hundred books, not to mention I got credit card rewards points.

I had a discount code on there. IT really, really great savings. If you're going to be spending money anyway, you might as well get rewarded for IT. And if you aren't using these tools where you're leaving a lot of money on the table, and I don't want you guys to do that up next, I would also say use Price tracking tools and extensions.

So something like a camel, camel, camel, yes, the animal name three times um can actually help you track Price drops and discounts to make sure you're actually getting a good deal. Um so often times on these holidays, you'll see like a slash through the original Price of a product and then be like, oh my god, I am getting such a good deal. But go on to camel, camel, camel and check the average Price for that product over the past year.

Sometimes you'll realize that the deal that you think you're getting that day is actually not Better than what the deal let's offered to eighty percent of the time. And there will be a Better time to get that product or maybe you're actually getting a worse Price. Um but I use camels, camels, camel to make sure that I am getting an actual discount, not just a discount after the Price has been artificially hiked ahead of a holiday.

Um so just make sure that you're checking Price history and getting a real deal. And I want to to back up a little bit also and talk about how to ensure that you are buying the right things. Um something that I feel like a lot of a struggle with is understanding the value of a dollar.

And this isn't like a luxury wait, like your dad would say that I truly mean IT because we do not understand what a dollar equates to, but we do understand what our time equates to because we are so deeply tied to what we're doing at the moment. Um so I think something that's more effective than calculating your purchases and doll is actually using a strategy called value by spending. Um essentially, you look at the Price of anything, any spread spending decision that you're about to make and you're going to make sure they align with your core values.

And by doing that, you are going to actually take the Price of the thing or the service or the experience. And instead of figuring out what the cost in dollars is, you're gonna divide IT by your hourly take home pay. So if you take home thirty dollars an hour, you're gona divide IT by thirty dollars.

So say you want to buy a pair of legings. It's ninety books divided by thirty dollars an hour. You would have to work three hours to get that pair of leggings.

And that is how I like to think about stuff. Would I be willing to trade three hours working at my desk for that pair of leggings? In some cases, the answer is a resounding yes.

I am dying to have these leggings. And other cases that helps me realized that I would rather avoid working for three hours, then have that pair of leggings. And that tells you something whether not you actually value you what you're about to get or it's just a spur of the moment desire.

And this is going to help you decide whether or not the things you're actually buying or worth IT. So this is actually helped me, over the years, realized that I love spending money on experiences, vacations, dining now, going out to eat, all of that. But I absolutely hate paying full Price for retail goods.

Don't get me wrong, i'd like no staff. I want to have no stuff, but I can't stand paying for Price, so i'll go to I just can't retailer or wait for a sale or make sure that i'm getting cash back. I have to do all of these things because spending full Price on retail just like doesn't make me feel good.

So um whether it's buying designer overseas so that I can get a that refund, i'm pulling out all the tricks in the book to make sure that i'm getting the best deal and value spending tell you a lot about your spending as well. Additionally, I mentioned this at the beginning of the show. My best black friday purchases have all been holiday gifts for other people. Every year. I get every single gift that I am planning on giving over the holiday season on black friday or ybor monday or the week, whatever.

Every week in our podcast, the splendid brings you fresh voices and surprise in conversations about food, people and culture IT tossed to by me, Francis lam. And every thanksgiving we produce a special episode called turkey confidential. It's our colony trial show for the cooking est day of the year.

We take your calls and get help for all your questions from our amazing friends. This year we've got chief Tiffany diary, joe yonan, author of mastering the art of planet base cooking page, chef power ellins, author of bodagh bikes, and award winning writer and teacher Andrea win a viet world kitchen wherever you need. We've got you covered. Check out the splendid table in our turkey confidential epo de, wherever you get your podcasts.

This is because this is your last chance to get some of those bigger ticket items or electronics or goods at a discounted Price. As soon as this e window is over, the retailers know they've got you where they want you. You are gonna have to buy those Christmas gift, those honor gifts regardless.

So they're not going to give you a discount because they know that no matter what the Prices you do not anna, let someone down, you do not want to disappoint someone on a very important day where there is a lot of societal expectations to be had. So they're going to jack up those Prices, you're going to pay full Price and you're going na be really, really regretful that you didn't get IT over the black friday holiday. So again, in addition to that excel of things that you may want for yourself, I always make a list beforehand and check off what items are going to be on sale and what I may still want to wait to get, especially for their experiences um ahead of completing my black friday shopping.

This is also really nice because if I can actually put together my whole entire holiday list in advance. I can write down with every single item costs and then tell IT up. So ahead of actually checking out, I can see in total how much will be spending.

And if that number feels a little too big, I can actually rats at some of those gifts back down and maybe say, hey, instead of getting this person the ninety eight dollar beauty set, I can get them the fifty eight dollar beauty set and that way um it's helpful to see which you're overall budget will be. I actually use this last year um my team is now enormous. So I have A A point agent, commercials agent, podcast agent, shout out to my podcast agent because you're the reason what we're doing this right now.

Um T V agent, book agent, speaking agent. I have a management team. I have an attorney, have a policy, I have a business. I've got a lot of people who work for me. And as the boss, I feel like I should be the one giving gifts, not receiving them.

So when you've got very literally a dozen people that you need to give gifts to and you wanna be too aggressive when IT comes to playing favourites, it's really helpful to be able to tear out the gifts and calculate the budget that you would be comfortable allocating to all of those people. IT just makes holiday shopping a lot easier as well. This also does help me personally avoid overspending during black friday because I don't know if it's like a dob, mean head or what sometimes you just need to shop IT doesn't necessarily need to be for you.

Um sure if there is something that I have my eye and i'm going to get a good sale or snag IT but typically for black friday these days, I strictly use IT for other people's gifts and that way I still get that fun, exciting hit of, oh, I got to spend money on black friday but I was actually incredibly practical versus me buying a junk that I don't personally need. And kind of my last hot tip that I want to share is a new tradition that I have been starting on black friday. Instead of actually spending your money, you can do what I like to call shopping your friends closets.

IT is so much fun and you would be shocked at how much stuff your friends have that they hate. And what's the phrase one man's trash is another man's treasure? Um well, that comes to be so also true when IT comes to our closets.

What i'd like to have people do is, after having thanksgiving with your family on the thursday, I typically have a friend's giving. And at friend's giving, we actually now each bring ten items, ten items that we think are cool, high quality, that our friends would like, that we no longer where. And then we essentially turn IT into a game, will sit around, will, you know have a drink, will stop our faces, but then we'll start showing each item vana White style.

And sometimes people bring weird stuff, sometimes people bring cool stuff. But it's a nice way to shop each other other's closet. It's absolutely free to do. It's a great way to spend time with the people you care about, and it's completely free to your budget. Um I have scored an amazing pair of red heels shout out to my friend jena.

I had been eying those heels since college and SHE just never ever gave them to me even though he should have I hope he is liens um I actually snag them at a friend's giving um and he ended up borrowing address of mine and uh he really love that dress and SHE ended getting to keep IT. So it's a really nice way to get new quote on quote stuff. And IT does, for me at least field even a little bit easier than drifting or buying second hand clothes because I know these people.

I feel comfortable borrowing their stuff. I know them. I know that theyve taken care of their stuff um and so you're going to get to feel really good about the stuff you're swapping and trading um and it's also just a good time to see your friends and recognize that think's giving really is all about being thankful and not just consume sum, consume capitalism.

So to rap us all the way up, I do want to continue to reiterate, i've said this a couple times, this holiday really is about being grateful for what we already have. And I think with social media being the way that is in our parents generation, IT was very much keeping up with the Johnny and your parents would take their paribas neocles s. And look out the front door window or the front window, and they would see that the Jones has had a new T V.

Or a new station wag and or something. And that is the benchmark for comparison. However, now, because we have literally an infinite window the size of our hands, and we can see into everybody else's life, keeping up with the Jones Z Z has become keeping up with the cardatas.

And honestly, regular folks like us have no business knowing what the inside of kim case private plane looks like because I think IT sets a deeply unrealistic expectation about what that means and what IT takes to have a perfectly happy life. IT is Normal to rework close. IT is Normal to fly an economy.

IT is Normal to have to budget and have to save and have to invest for your future. IT is absolutely not Normal to get glam every day. IT is absolutely not Normal to go out for every single meal. And I think by taking a step back and bring yourself self back down to reality, it's going to be really helpful to think about what you actually value and what you want to spend your dollars on. Um so a couple really interesting in key points.

Um another opportunity that I encourage you to consider this year, and it's something that i'm certainly looking into for myself, is I saw this clip of Martin lynch uh miked up at some football game and this was years and years and years ago but he was asking another plan on his team. He was like, ebra, will you come with me? I give out turkeys every single thanksgiving in my old neighborhood, the one that I grew up in.

Um obviously you know he didn't grow up with a lot and now is a multimillion aire, obviously incredibly successful. And I thought that was so points because a guy who can very literally afford anything is spending his time on this special day during this week to actually just give back um so in addition to maybe getting the best sale and snagging what you want, maybe consider giving some of the back um for every piece of clothing that you are buying. Maybe also do a closet clean out, maybe go serve food at your local food bank um donate things to goodwill that you aren't going to wear anymore, especially as he gets closer to the winter months and IT gets and IT gets colder. Our on house population is more and more at risk due to climate change. The weather just is going to be more and more aggressive and it's a really hard time not to have a warm shelter and a roof over your head so that certainly uh, an option for so many of us, something that I definitely considered implementing as a tradition in my life and my family.

Um and last at least do some fun things that don't cost money um whether that be a Harry potter movie marathon yes, I know halloween over, but I still love a fun spooky sit under the blanket gets some popcorn and watch some TV you can see your friends from your hometown just catching up with those you love and as much as I clown on these people maybe it's not a bad idea to do a quick five K A little turkey chat a little walk um right after eating all of that delicious food um that way not only can you feel healthy, you'll get to feel wealthy as you make smarter shopping and spending decisions this black friday, I hope you learned a little something during this episode and good luck, happy shopping and i'll see you guys next week bye. Thanks for tuning into this weeks episode of network and chill, part of the vox media podcast network. If you like the episode, make sure to leave a rating and review and subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Got a burning financial question that you won't covered in a future episode right to us via podcast at your rich bf f duck com. Follow network and chill pot on instagram for state up today on all podcast related news. And you can follow me at your B, F, F for even more financial, know how, see the next 拜。