CASH IS KING ON BLACK FRIDAY

If you splurge on that 'I deserve it' item this year, don't buy it on credit

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BLACK Friday savings are only real if you are paying in cash or debit card linked to money in the bank, or any other method of payment which does not involve interest.

Any other form of payment - especially those with high interest rates — just cost you more, and you save nothing.

Marketing campaigns for all these “specials” seem to start earlier every year.

This year I saw them in October already ahead of the big day on 28 November.

Every year after the Black Friday hype — price comparisons prove that many Black Friday “savings” are often just marketing tricks to make consumers think they are getting something for cheaper — when they actually aren’t.

In certain stores, prices are inflated, only to be “lowered” for Black Friday. So there is no real savings benefit to consumers.

Now while I am not a fan of all the Black Friday hype, I can understand the need to buy some “I deserve it” items.

It’s been one helluva year — and Black Friday is so perfectly positioned on the calendar — that vulnerable consumers do let their guard down and let their emotions take over.

Consumers are struggling with the increase in debt repayments and the ever-rising cost of living.

Mense need to look at the hard truths about their financial situation before “going bos” on Black Friday deals.