Most of the time I try look at things through the lens of economics, but I am trying to look past that in this particular analysis of Black Friday in the United States. If you are outside the US you might not know about Black Friday, which is a day of crazy sales on almost all items at almost every store. The Black Friday hype is so large to the point where people are literally lining up a day in advance for 40% off a television. I can’t help but to ask on this holiday how much stuff is enough and why do we need to spend what we do for products that will only marginally increase our happiness for a short period of time.
Black Friday to an economist is a wet dream as it stimulates businesses and boosts GDP a large amount in one day. However to the average person who is maxing out their credit card to pay for shit they don’t actually need, I am skeptical. I have always preached frugality in my blog posts and this one is no different as I think for the most part consumerism in this country is enslaving many of us. People work so they can buy items that boost their status and create “face” among their community, while much of the world can’t afford to buy food. There is no way to really change this fact, just that it happens and most of us seem to not care.
In my opinion people need to be better at prioritizing the necessities of what they really need to be happy because in the long run our entire nation is going to feel the effects of the lack of savings created by current generations. Older generations now can’t even retire and it is estimated that things are only going to be worse in time. Instead of waiting on line for hours just to get a new television four inches bigger, why not save that few hundred dollars and invest it. The concept is not hard, but the practice itself is. I always say the hardest thing about investing it actually investing. However if you can actually take the money to do it, long term you will thank yourself.
The thing that mostly bothers me about Black Friday is how people are so blinded by deals that they literally turn into ravenous animals. Every year we hear people getting trampled to death for a $10 toaster or some other useless thing that they didn’t need. Is any deal worth someone’s life? There is a level of overconsumption in this country that needs to be addressed or else we are all going to end up poor in the future. People don’t need all the things they buy and the media continues to push people to spend spend spend. Our economy is built on spending which is why many of the policies taken are aimed to hurt savers.
There is a misconception in this country that just because you can buy something doesn’t mean you actually should. If you have a million dollars, it doesn’t mean you should spend it all on a house, you need to live comfortably and below your means. We all want to be happy, but the short term money we are spending isn’t worth the long term problems we are going to experience. If we take a step back and put things in perspective we can see that the answer to our problems isn’t more things. Experiences that we can afford to have later in life if we save, like traveling to other countries will make us better human beings. Those of us who want to be financially secure in old age need to realize the spending mistakes we are making and fix them as soon as possible. Im not saying that we should occasionally buy new things that bring us enjoyment, but we need to weigh how much enjoyment they will bring us versus how much enjoyment the future could bring us.
-Calaber24p
It seems to be a rhetoric question as the word implies the answer to this question... What is the color of Napoleon's white horse?!? Namaste ;)
As a frugal introverted person, I agree with everything you said, but it's still the opposite of what I need to hear. :)
I will offer you a deal once a year, along with rest of the serfs!
so judgemental...where's the tolerance?
I didn't read it as judgemental. More like the age-old advice: put aside and invest. Living without debt has given me a lot of freedom compared to my peers.
Good point. I mean a good rant or vent feels good, but I like the question of the end of where is the tolerance.
I don't think he was being judgmental - I think more realistic . We stand in front of family and friends so grateful for intangibles such as our family and friends then go out, stand in lines in freezing @ss cold weather, trample people for a $150 32' TV. WTH!
If you take the economics out of it - it's crazy rubber room behavior.
I haven't done Black Friday in 16 years and thank God I don't.
I agree with you 100%. Amen. Upvoted and followed!
Hi @calaber
I don't agree with you that black Friday boost the economy, it just changes the spending pattern, specially for non perishable food and house hold goods. You will for instance by extra dish wash soap, tooth past, washing powder and coffee and store it to be used later. This means that you will not buy the items for a long period. I however agree with you that people should not buy luxury goods that are not really needed, and that one should rather save and stay debt free as far as possible.
Nice post
I'm quite impressed with your article. First, many of us living outside the US know about Black Friday. For me its just pure commercial stunt on the part of the businesses to take full advantage of the christmas spirit. Nevertheless, the frenzy with which people hustle to buy discounted items is what gets to me.