This year, Black Friday deals started around November 1st in Canada. They were so closely followed by Cyber Monday deals that I couldn’t even make the difference. That brought us to the end of November with non-stop deals all the way. A couple of weeks later, pre-Boxing Days started. Then the actual Boxing Day and then “the end of the year deals”. Wondering why and how to avoid over consumption during the Holiday period when everything is done to promote spending?
Staying in control during shopping season
No one can question these shopping days are formidable tools to boost sales. I pride myself in being a mindful consumer most of the time, making sure I think twice before buying something. I will admit though that I couldn’t resist a new Vitamix blender during last Black Friday Month (we are having a lot of smoothies, so far the return on investment is looking good). So I think I can imagine quite well how these deals could wreak havoc on some others consumers wallets as well.
It is important to properly budget for these events and even more so stay on budget. In 2021, 1 out 4 Canadians significantly overspent. Some people racked up credit cards debts, overextending themselves by spending more than what they are able to reimburse in a timely manner. Needless to say, credit card debts could very well forfeit any “good deal” you thought you were paying for.
Taking advantage to achieve short term goals
Taking advantage of Black Friday deals is a great way to reach some of your short term and material goals as long as you avoid over consumption. For example, we would like to add a gazebo to our backyard. Some of the newer gazebos out there are real investment adding value to your property, especially when combined with a bit of landscaping. They are also quite expensive so being able to secure a good deal can make the process much easier.
1- Make a list
To make sure we don’t go overboard with any type of sales, we keep a list of things we would like to buy sorted by importance. This definitely help us to avoid over consumption.
This list is written down on a white board in my office and includes estimate amounts and dates we think we would like to make the purchase. We add to it all year long. That helps with visualization so you stay focused on your true “material goals”. If it makes it to the list, it means it is probably somewhat expensive but also not an impulsive purchase. It also means it is something that has been discussed between us (my husband and I) and aligned upon. Eventually when it is time to buy, you should be able to assess if a deal is truly a good deal compared to the initial price, therefore avoiding inflated price information retailers are displaying to encourage more sales.
2 – Shop around and use a cash back app
So when Black Friday arrives, we know exactly what to look for. I would shop around on the internet to find out what is the best price and of course use my favourite cash back app (Rakuten, referral link here) when checking out online. Typically, I would have made ample researches about an item ait so the risk that I order online and actually don’t like the product is very low.
Over consumerism and the environment
Personal finance and being mindful of our environment are often time going hand in hand. I actually realized that many people feel more compelled to act more carefully towards the planet and live a simpler lifestyle if they also know their actions have a direct impact on their wallet. It is not ideal but if people can be convinced to somehow reduce their carbon footprint so they save more money, then I think it is an argument worth making. Win-win, right? We talked earlier a little bit about making sure we take advantage of Black Friday, without it taking advantage of us and our money. Now let’s look into how over consumption is affecting our environment.
Producing, transporting, disposing
Household consumption (including food) contributes to more than 60% of greenhouse gas (GHG) as per this 2015 study. More over, an insanely high percentage of up to 80% of the items purchased during Black Friday would quickly end up in land fill – along with their usual plastic packaging, sometimes after barely one usage (study from the University of Leeds, UK). Over consumerism in all its magnificence.
This article looks into the impact of Black Friday 2021 in the UK. It estimated the GHG produced by deliveries alone to be equivalent to that of 215 flights London-Sydney. In case you are wondering, this is about 20 hours of flight). Now imagine this impact multiplied by the proportional number of countries participating in these events, and across multiple days. You could argue online sales are going to decrease now that the pandemic restrictions have been lifted. That is true for Canadian consumers (sales decreased by 8% this year). But it increased by 12% in the US, reaching an all time record amount. So, yes, deliveries are still going strong. And raise your hand if you have never ordered something online, received it, been disappointed by how it looked or its quality and had to return it or garbage it… I’ll wait.
The not-so-great thing about emails
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Boxing Day … all of these “events” typically last much longer than a day. During these periods, promotional emails with “life time deals” keep piling up in your inbox. These also contribute to carbon emissions. This very interesting study from Fight Climate Change explains the electricity required to send an email and then to store that same email is generating a few grams of CO2. Considering the quantities of emails flowing around at that time, it adds up and is having quite an impact.
So if you have been subscribing to emails lists to get that typical 10% off reserved for new clients (hello, guilty person right here), take the time to review these emails and unsubscribe. It will help in avoiding sending these emails in the first place so you are not tempted to buy something you don’t need, no energy will be spent getting that email to your inbox and it won’t take any space on your already overcrowded cloud. Another good habit to implement is also deleting emails every once in a while.
How do we avoid over consumption?
We hear from time to time about retailers trying to limit their participation in these events. At this point I believe it is extremely limited. Sometimes it is just plain greenwashing tactics, trying to appeal to a customer base that may be more sensible to these issues. (Just this morning I saw some advertisements starting with something along the lines of “promote slow fashion” only to be followed by a “50-70% off” picture in the carousel. wtf is this.)
There is no question those special period keep getting longer. They are no longer days but often weeks and we are not far from having Black Friday month now for some retailers. I can understand it is really hard for companies to compete with each other if they decide to cancel their participation in these special days. This is one of these things were I don’t think we can expect people or companies to simply stop consuming or proposing deals. A political intervention with some regulations implemented to curb these events is necessary.
Personal finance and eco conscious consumerism go hand in hand
Stay mindful and intentional during the Holidays shopping season. (And if you were going to take advantage of Black Friday to purchase Christmas gifts for small children, you may want to check out this other post I wrote.) Staying in control to take advantage of “true deals” that are aligned with your own personal goals and financial plans is critical to protect both your finances and the planet during the most frenetic shopping days of the year. And what is the point of building generational wealth if you don’t work towards leaving an inhabitable planet anyway?
In case you missed it: my Rakuten referral link (so you and I both share some of that affiliate marketing money)