Smart Spending moves to WordPress. Come see our new home
Come along with Mr. Cheapskatin’ as Smart Spending changes addresses. This move won’t cost you a cent.
The latest entry might help you find air fares for spring break and summer travel that won’t leave a hole in the ol’ piggy bank.
Bookmark our new site (http://blogs.ajc.com/smart-spending-blog/) and be sure to sign up for the RSS feed.
Home > Smart Spending > Archives > 2008 > November > 26
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Friday’s On My Mind, But Not For Shopping
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ll walk the extra mile for a bargain. Maybe even a mile and a half. But, to me, venturing out to the stores on Black Friday is akin to running a marathon — while carrying loaded shopping bags.
Count me as one who doesn’t get the rush of rolling out of bed early on a day off from work, fighting the throngs to squeeze into a parking space narrowed by an SUV sandwich, bumping into crazed shoppers who apparently get released from home confinement once a year and standing in lengthy checkout lines while seasonal employees on their first shift figure how to ring up your items.
Those who crave adventure, I understand. Since there is no nearby blizzard-shrouded mountain to climb or 10-foot wave to surf, Black-and-Blue Friday might have to do for survival satisfaction.
I have planned a little gift-buying on Sunday morning, when the Black Friday fever has subsided. Am I correct in assuming the prices will not have changed? The shelves will not be empty? The stores’ seasonal workers will not have resigned in frustration, leaving checkout lines unmanned?
For those who cannot resist the siren’s call, here are some tips for how best to stretch your Black Friday bucks. And another piece of advice.
Are you a Black Friday doer or avoider? Do you believe there are one-day-only bargains to be had?
If you are so inclined, go ahead and run your marathon. (But be careful out there. It’s a jungle.)
As for myself, I’m spending Friday walking … between the couch and the fridge for Thanksgiving Day leftovers.
To find ways to help make you way through a bumpy economy check out Your Money.
