This is not going to be a typical post for me. In fact, you will not get this side of the spectrum from me very often. But there is one day a year when I become a major SPENDER.
One of my favorite holidays is Thanksgiving. I love getting together with family, eating lots of food, relaxing, and watching football while everyone is all under the same roof. This is tons of fun for me. However, the fullness of the excitement hits the next day.
The day after Thanksgiving (or Black Friday as some call it) is the biggest shopping day of the year. I used to work in the mall during high school so I usually had to work this day and began to dislike it, however, no longer do I have these sentiments.
Let me tell you this if you are a guy who not only likes to get a deal, but looks at it as if it is a challenge or a game, this is like the NBA Finals, World Cup, and Super Bowl all rolled into one. In case you haven’t guessed it, I am a planner. Not only am I a planner but I am a meticulous planner who has to create a detailed complicated spreadsheet for everything.
The day after Thanksgiving is my time to shine. Literally, I set aside money each month throughout the year to go into my “Black Friday Fund” that I have accruing interest in one of my ING Direct Accounts leading up to this one day. Also, I have been taking my own advice and been delaying pleasure all year and waiting on things so that I could just buy them on this glorious day and receive a major discount.
On Thanksgiving, during the time when everyone is relaxing with the football game on, I will then “get to work.” I bring every piece of advertisement that was in the newspaper for that day and start compiling data. I have a budget to work with and then I start deciding what fun electronics I will purchase tomorrow. It is like a coach burning the midnight oil tweaking his game plan for the next game. I plan out what time I will hit the store, the order in which they will be hit, and create a strategy to maximize my deal making ability.
Then the next day (just like in sports) the execution is just as important as the plan. I get out there with my strategy and go go go. Then once noon hits I cannot wait to celebrate my recent victory at Chick-fil-a and think how I can’t wait til next year again.
