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Gray Friday?

Posted Nov 23 2007, 03:28 PM by Donna Freedman
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There was plenty of elbow room at a local mall this Black Friday morning. A nearby Walgreens was awfully quiet, too, and clerks were standing around chatting at the Office Depot and Staples that I visited.

I got a late start, not leaving the house until sometime after 8 a.m., so maybe I missed the throngs. Or maybe there weren't any. Perhaps the predictions of consumer caution are coming true. Perhaps everyone's waiting for Cyber Monday.

Elbow room was fine by me, even though I wasn't buying much. I've purchased gifts from clearance tables and rummage sales throughout the year. Some presents are courtesy of MyPoints and MyCokeRewards. A few folks will get jams (made from free fruit) and cookies (made with loss-leader ingredients).

And I admit it: I'm re-gifting a couple of things.

Keeping it realistic
It's great fun to give gifts, but no fun to spend beyond your means. Well, it may be fun at the time, but your stomach will hurt once the bills arrive.

Here are some reader strategies for holiday shopping:

  • "Bonitakale" puts aside $20 a week, all year long. "And that's about what we spend."
  • "SuperBananaKelli," a stay-at-home mom of three, has a four-gift rule: "Something you want. Something you need. Something to wear. Something to read." Each person gets one gift in each category; this rule adapts to any budget, she says.
  • "EmeraldElite" has one rule, too: "Cash is king." If she can't pay cash, it doesn’t get bought.
  • "Ombuds_18" creates great gift baskets for $8 to $19 with items from discount stores like Ross. (Or how about the dollar store?)
  • "Beesmoker" and his wife have a special dinner out or a weekend trip, then buy only "token gifts" for each other for Dec. 25. "I'd be lost if the Christmas Sock and Underwear Fairy didn't pay her annual visit," he writes. "I'm too big for Santa Claus, but you never outgrow the S&U Fairy."

Mindless spending
As thrifty as I like to think I am, I have to admit I was mesmerized by the Black Friday ads. Some of the loss leaders were so tempting because they were, well, so cheap.

The ads were like the Thanksgiving dinner that preceded them: There was so much, and it all looked so good, that I couldn't seem to push myself away from the table.

Mindless eating is embarrassing, but at least it happens only a few times a year: Thanksgiving, Christmas and those rare occasions when I hit an all-you-can-eat buffet. It would be a lot healthier to visit "all you should eat" buffets.

The same goes for spending. I don't want to be in the position of not being able to push myself away from the mall.

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Comments

 

I spent Thanksgiving morning leisurely reading all the newspaper inserts with the joy once supplied by the arrival of the Christmas "Wishbook" catalogue. I found many things that excited me, few things I wanted, and nothing, really, that I NEEDED. So the only money I spent today was for an oil change. (Black Friday is a GREAT day to get your oil changed; no waiting.)

But a co-worker told of stopping by a computer store last night. He found the deeply discounted item he wanted within 15 steps of the door, grabbed it, and got in line. It took two hours to check out. His wife was in the car and not happy. He saved $70, but figured he would have done things differently had he known how unprepared the store was for the rush of customers, many of whom would have issues with the calculations of discounts and rebate offers when they got to the checkstand.

Frugal Boy (Posted 11.23.07 6:52 PM ) Report Abuse

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