When A Great Deal Isn't Really.

Black Friday got me thinking about the way we spend money in a hurried frenzy when we think there is a great deal to be had. Example: Earlier in the week, before the rush and the hype of Black Friday, I was at Target and saw some scarves hanging up. They were plain, looked soft, and were marked at a regular price of $5. I thought, "Those look nice, and basic. Maybe I should buy a few. I wear scarves a lot. I'll think about it." There were plenty there, so I decided to wait. Fast forward to the Black Friday ad for Target- the same scarves were listed as some limited time, hot deal in the ad for...you guessed it...the low low price of $5! Wow! What a deal! When I went to Target around 6AM on Black Friday, that rack of scarves was down to bare bones, just a few color choices left. On Saturday, my husband and I went to Target again, to see if they had any games left in their Black Friday, 2 Day Only Sale. We found one marked down to a very good price, and decided to get that. We also saw Scrabble on sale for $9.99. It was "price cut" down from $9.89. We are easily deceived, aren't we?

Another thing I considered as we decided our money limit and what to buy was quality. Some of these fantastic deals are not scams, but they are not the items with the highest quality ratings either. Why is that? So that you need to buy the same items, again, at fantastic prices....next year on Black Friday. Towels, for instance, are always at a dirt cheap sale price on Black Friday. $2 or less. But are they ever the nice, plush, absorbent ones? No, they are the ones that you will be using as cleaning rags by next year. A towel of great quality and thickness could last you several years. The "great deals" usually won't. We considered the same principle with the great TV deals that were out there this year. The cheapest ones were either going to be incredibly limited in number, and would only go to the most die-hard shoppers that had been camping out since the week before, or they were brands we didn't recognize. We decided to wait for a pretty good sale over an unbelievable sale, and choose which television we actually want to own.

My point is definitely not that you have to pay with an arm and a leg to have anything worth owning. No way! I believe you can get great quality for less! My point is that we shouldn't buy things just because of the low price tag. That takes us from being savvy, to being a sucker. Consider you purchases carefully, and use wisdom with your money. That, I think, is the real secret to getting a great deal.