Well, I don't want to squash your hunt for 2010 Black Friday deals or dampen your year-end festivities. But I would like you to think about two smart ways you can avoid overspending and debt during the holidays on Black Friday:
Use more cash than plastic
Studies show that shoppers tend to buy more than they had planned (in terms of quantity) - and to purchase higher-priced items when they use credit cards versus cash. When you have to fork over cold, hard dollars, psychologically, it makes you think about the value of your purchases Black Friday purchases.
So before you go on a gift-buying binge, hit the ATM first - armed with your budget - and take out exactly the maximum amount you've determined you can afford. Later, when you are out of cash, that's it. Leave the mall or whatever store you're in. Resist the temptation to whip out plastic to buy more stuff.
The National Retail Federation predicts that the average shopper will spend about $687 on holiday purchases in 2010, on Black Friday and beyond. About 43% of consumers will pay with debit cards; 26% will pay with cash. Both are smart choices.
Don't buy gifts for everyone
Many of us have been brought up to believe that you absolutely must buy a gift for those closest to you - even if you have 7 siblings and 18 nieces and nephews.
A better strategy, especially for those with big families, is to buy a gift for the whole family. So instead of buying your sister a $60 sweater, buying her husband a $45 bottle of cologne, and spending $30 on each one of their three children, try purchasing a family pack of movie tickets for the whole gang. That'll run you $30 to $45 depending on where you live.
Or if movies aren't their thing, maybe they'd love to have a family outing to someplace cheap, such as the local zoo or a regional museum. You can usually get those tickets pretty cheap.
The point is to get something the whole family can enjoy - preferably together - without blowing your budget.
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Follow these two easy tips and you've have a less stressed holiday season and you'll avoid going into debt on Black Friday 2010 as well. After all, you do want to start off 2011 on the proper financial footing, right?
Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, an award-winning financial news journalist and former Wall Street Journal reporter for CNBC, has been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today, and the New York Times, as well as magazines ranging from Essence and Redbook to Black Enterprise and Smart Money. Check out her New York Times best seller 'Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom.'