How Will You Spend Black Friday?

What are you looking forward to most about Thanksgiving weekend; relaxing with friends and family or dashing madly from store to store?

What I want to know is who decided that Thanksgiving weekend should be all about shopping? As an inherently cheap person, I’m really torn between joining the dash to score a deal and spending time with the family.

Believe it or not, last year was first time I participated in the shopping smorgasbord. For years I had resisted the tempting teasers the retailers dangled in front of me the week before the holiday. I couldn’t take it anymore, I knew I was missing out on some great deals and had to join the rush.

I left Thanksgiving dinner early and stayed up all night researching which video camera to buy and where to get the best deal. I hit the stores to stand in line at o’dark thirty, and raced from Best Buy, to Circuit City, and on.

At the end of the day I was exhausted. I picked up a few good deals but had spent way too much of my vacation day standing in line. I suppose if I’d had the tips from PFAdvice on how to outsmart the competition I may have fared better but the time I spent definitely outweighed the savings. I decided it wasn’t for me; I echo the sentiments of My Money Blog when he says it’s “not worth the trouble”.

I was actually disappointed in myself for letting the retailer’s “hype” get to me. I couldn’t believe I’d let Best Buy and Circuit City decide how I was going to spend a good chunk of my Thanksgiving. I’ve learned my lesson; I’ll be relaxing at home this year with my family.

What about you? Has the hypnotizing spin cycle of door buster deals sucked you in this year? Do they have you hyped up enough to join the huddled masses in the parking lot of Best Buy?

How will you spend Black Friday?

Ben Edwards, the founder of Money Smart Life, saved up enough to buy a Nintendo back when he was 12 years old. When he used the money to buy shares of Wal-Mart stock instead, he knew he wasn't like the other kids... His addiction to personal finance has paid off for his family and now he's helping you to afford the life that you want. Check him out on the web at Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

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