PEOPLE tend to spend more on Black Friday because of all the specials on offer but practising self-discipline and having a firm plan for your budget can prevent you from overspending.
Programme manager at FNB Consumer Education Dhashni Naidoo has suggested the following tips to avoid getting into financial distress over Black Friday purchases:
- Plan your budget in advance and be honest with what you can afford. Avoid spending money you did not budget for.
- Do your research ahead of time, know exactly what you want to buy and determine the price of those goods upfront. Compare prices and understand the current price of the item you need, so you can establish if the discounted price you’ll see on Black Friday is favourable.
- Buy what you need and not because something is on sale.
- Do not use debt to buy non-essential or luxury goods. Credit incurs interest.
Naidoo said consumers must not be tempted to spend excessively and should stick to their budget and the items they need.
“Sometimes we are lured by the excitement as well as the appealing marketing and therefore are tempted to buy goods simply because we are told that the prices have been reduced. It's important to understand whether there has been any substantial reduction in the price of the item you wish to buy. The easiest way to determine if there has been a decrease is to track the price over a period of time,” he said.
She said just because something is labelled cheaper on Black Friday does not always mean that it's a worthwhile buy.