Silly season spending is set to take off on Black Friday - here's how to stop getting swept away by a bargain

Black Friday is one of the biggest sales events of the year and while the slashed prices provide a great opportunity to make some important Christmas purchases, shoppers need to make sure they are actually getting a good deal.

Retailers are taking advantage of the silly season spending, with early access to Black Friday sales already starting to flood email inboxes. Shoppers are set to spend $6.7 billion during the four days from Friday 29 November to Monday 2 December, 5.5 per cent more than this time last year.

But while sales can help save some money during an expensive period, they can also promote overspending and leave you struggling for the rest of the season, so here are some tips to make the most out of Black Friday and use it to your benefit.

Make a list (Check it twice)

If you’re looking to save money, buying discounted items is pointless if you end up buying more products than you need, so preparing for the sale before you start shopping is essential.

Write down who you are buying for, what you want to buy them, how much you are willing to spend and where you can purchase the item.

Making this list will help guide your shopping experience and ensure you don’t get caught out with the excitement of new items that might be suitable for a Christmas present.

Sticking to the list is the most difficult part of this tip, so be disciplined and have a contingency plan if you cannot find the item you want or if it is not on sale at this time.

There’s plenty of time to do your research early too, with many retailers having given customers a sneak peek of the discounts, some of which will start before the expected date, and websites like Finder also provide lists of what is on offer.

Cross-check other stores and sites

There are going to be hundreds of stores and websites slashing their prices, many of which may sell similar, if not the same items that you are searching for – so do your research.

Just because an item has a big flashy ‘80% off’ sign, doesn’t guarantee it is the cheapest out there.

If you see something in store, a quick search online should give you an indication of whether it is actually a good deal or just good marketing, and if you find it elsewhere for a better cost, ask the store if they price match.

Often ‘members’ of stores have access to exclusive deals or further discounts, so if you don’t mind your email filling up, it can be a good way to make an extra saving. If the regular updates from retailers that come along with this are too overwhelming, set a notification to opt out after the sales are over or create a new email address specifically for signing up to shopping websites.

When comparing costs, be sure to factor in extra things like shipping, transaction fees or international price conversion.

Ditch the gift guilt (and set some boundaries)

Congratulations, you’ve found the perfect gift at an extremely discounted price! But did you spend enough?

When buying for others, consumers approached spending differently, said University of Wollongong’s consumer expert Dr Nadia Zainuddin.

“There’s this occasion and sense of it being very very special, and it’s things like that which might convince someone to spend a little bit more on things that they wouldn’t spend more on in any other situation,” Dr Zainuddin said.

She said when faced with choosing from two similar products where the only difference was something like packaging, many may justify spending more.

“You might pay more for the prettier one because ‘it’s a gift,’ ‘it’s for a friend,’ ‘it’s Christmas’ and being aware of that does put you in a stronger position for making informed decisions,” Dr Zainuddin said.

It’s important not to get caught up on a dollar amount if you’ve managed to snag a bargain and ditch the guilt about not spending enough.

Bought a $200 gift but got it for $30? Great! You don’t need to go spend another $170 to make up for the money you’ve saved.

Don’t feel bad about getting a deal, you aren’t gifting a price tag.

Beware ‘spend and saves’ and free shipping

A common sales trend is larger discounts the more you spend (such as 10 per cent off when spending $50 but 20 per cent off when you spend $100) and while this can be great for saving on big ticket items, it can also encourage you to spend more than you intended.

There is often also a threshold for free shipping, and with many items ticketed not at whole dollar amounts (e.g. $9.99 rather than $10), hitting these amounts exactly is difficult, particularly if you are only buying things you actually want and not an additional item to get you over the line.

Do the math.

It is important to focus on how much you are spending not how much you are saving.

If you don’t need it, are unsure who to give it to, didn’t plan for it or didn’t budget for it, it’s usually best to not get it at all.

However, you can use these sales to your advantage by streamlining purchases you were intending to make across different websites.

Ecommerce service B Dynamic Logistics CEO Mal Siriwardhane said by minimising the number of places you bought from you could help prevent additional costs.

“When buying multiple items from the same retailer or seller, they may combine shipping into one package, reducing the overall delivery cost compared to placing separate orders,” he said. “This can often save you quite a bit of money.”

And when there’s added discounts involved, it could help reduce your spending even further.

Swap buy now, pay later for lay-by

Finder research shows more than 40 per cent of Australians utilise the convenience of buy now, pay later services like Afterpay which allow them to purchase a product upfront and then pay off the balance in installments, but more than 1 in 15 users are getting caught out with late fees.

With an average of $77 in late fees, shoppers could undo any bargain hunting or budgeting, while also impacting their debt.

But when considering Christmas presents, the instantaneous gratification provided by these services is not usually required, with gifts likely to spend weeks idle in your home before they go to the recipient.

By switching the process and opting for lay-by services, you can make sure that you don’t accidently overextend your spending while also storing the item in a safe space in the lead up to Christmas.

Many stores offer this as an option, although there may be varying conditions on a minimum spend, or deposit amount.

Spreading out payments can help you enjoy the sales while reducing the pinch.

So if you’re game enough to brave Black Friday in store or are looking to tackle it from the comfort of your computer, taking a bit of extra time could help reduce buyer’s remorse and ensure you can continue to manage the cost of living beyond Christmas and into 2025.