Two Reasons Why My Frugal Self Will Still Participate in the Black Friday Madness

This year will be my first Black Friday as a frugal gal on a budget. You might think this would deter me from participating in the usual madness, but no. Here’s why.

Family Fun and Togetherness
There’s nothing like sitting on cold concrete in the middle of a line wrapped around your favorite electronics store at 3 o’clock in the morning to bring the family closer together. Black Friday has become a tradition in my family over the last few years, and I really look forward to it. We plot out a game plan the night before and then attack the sales like a well-oiled machine. The real challenge of the whole experience is attempting to retain some sense of dignity as we (politely) shove our way to the goods among the throng of frantic shoppers.

Great Deals
There are the usual deals on big ticket items like video game systems, big screen tvs, and computers, but my favorite Black Friday items are the simple pleasures. There are always a few small gems to be found for the best price of all: free. I’ve gotten lots of paper, CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, jewel cases, and small electronic accessories like microphones and thumb drives over the years. It can be a bit of a hassle to obtain them, and sometimes they aren’t items that I really need (this is how I came to own a purple lava lamp), but spending time with my crazy family makes it all worth it.

So this Friday I'll be lined up outside a major electronics store to score some sweet deals on free stuff and gifts for the holidays. The only thing I'll wish is that my family had flown South for the holidays, rather than me flying North; 3 a.m. is a lot colder in Seattle than it is in LA.