The end-of-year sales bonanza used to be a one-day Black Friday event. Now it’s a smorgasbord of sale emails from every company you’ve ever interacted with, running from November to Christmas. For this frugal dad, it’s basically the playoffs.
Throughout the year, my wife and I have gotten better at anticipating big things we need/want to buy and holding off for a big sales event. Why pay full price when you can delay that gratification and add the budget euphoria of getting it at a discounted price? Living on an island where everything is at least a week or two away anyway means impulse buying doesn’t hit quite as well as walking into a Lululemon and walking out a much poorer but better dressed man.
Sadly, many of the sales advertised during this period are just scams. A marketing ploy to get you to spend money on things you don’t need, simply because there’s a false sense of urgency that you won’t see a price this good again. Luckily we’re smarter than the average bear.
If you can find that magical crossover where the thing you were going to buy anyway at full price, suddenly goes on sale - it’s straight fire. That’s what the kids are saying these days. I learnt it watching Survivor.
Knowing the cost of the things you’re going to buy beforehand is therefore the key to not getting conned. Amazon very excitedly sent me a notification to say an item I had looked at before was 50% off. But the ‘50% off’ special price was the same price I had seen months ago when I first looked at it!
Despite the scammy sales floating about, this year we got some great deals I’m really proud of. I’m even more proud that I did not buy one thing on sale for myself on a whim. The baby was a different story.
This year’s sales haul savings report:
Car seat for when the baby graduates from her current seat (and one which will last until she doesn’t need one anymore) - 20% off!
Educational toys we were going to buy at full price throughout the next year - 25% off!
Flight to see the grandparents - 33% off, making some smart use of a points sale and family card benefits! (Thanks Sharon!)
Baby creams and soaps - 40% off!
Broken outdoor camera replacement - 50% off!
Saving money like this makes me unreasonably giddy! A 20% return on a no risk investment is unheard of. To save money on something you would have needed to buy at full price regardless starts to feel like you’re the Wolf of Wall Street - minus the drugs and unhappiness.
This doesn’t just have to be a Black Friday thing. Stores often have sales during other holidays in the year, allowing you to get great deals all year round. So the next time you need to make a big purchase, or maybe even basic supplies, put it on the wish list and start planning for the next big deal. Even the richest people love a good deal on diapers. Though maybe they’re paying someone else to change them.
