How To Snag Epic Black Friday Deals Without The Spending Hangover

Working smarter, not harder, goes way beyond hacks for meetings that should have been an email: it turns out that our spending habits could do with a sprinkle of this philosophy. 

Case in point, Black Friday sales. A ruddy good time of year to pick up some bargains, sure—but it can come with some clutter that causes a hangover worse than an XL jug of sangria. 

We’ve teamed up with Westpac to help you shop smarter, not harder, this Black Friday. Here are some simple hacks and game-ification tips to keep your pocket—and your shopping cart—happy. 

Embrace The 30 Day Rule 

Here’s a little homework (the good kind) for you, before Black Friday hits: 1) Snoop around your fave boutiques. 2) Make a mental note of the knick-knacks you’ve seen and loved. 3) Check in with yourself a few days before Black Friday to see: are these pieces still floating around your brain?

If they are—and you can picture them clearly—then ding ding ding, you’ve got a contender for a Black Friday purchase.

30 days is usually the benchmark for this, but even a week before is doable. Basically, a little buffer time between seeing and spending helps you make sure the purchases are the result wanted, needed and not a result of being swept up in the craze.  

A Separate Spending Account

Image Credit: Jojo Ross | Instagram

An existing stash of cash—one allocated entirely for shopping—is one of the best ways of reducing Black Friday regret. Or any nice-to-have shopping, really.

You’ll want to look at an automatic tool like a Salary Splitter for this. Every month, around payday, it puts a sliver of your salary (you choose the amount) away into a dedicated shopping account, before you even know it. Heck, it can divide it into a total of six other accounts if you fancy. 

Come Black Friday, you’ll have a pile of cash designed for guilt-free spending. A free shopping assistant? That’s practical and glam. 

Check. The. Currency.

We’ve all been starry-eyed at the (seemingly) pretty price of an international boutique’s goodies, only to realise at checkout that it’s been in USD and double the price all along. Doh. 

Save the eye-roll and checkout scramble by running the prices through a currency converter ahead of time. (After triple-checking the currency—but that goes without saying). 

PS. We vote running your above ‘shopping fund’ cash through Westpac’s currency converter to find out *exactly* how much you’ve set aside.  

One less piece of admin to do on Black Friday, more time for the fun stuff.

A Ruthless Unsubbing Session

Beauty bag teeming with eyeshadow palettes that are nowhere close to hitting the pan? You’re not buying another one. Nope. No matter how good the sales are this year. 

Our tip to curb temptation this Black Friday: unsubscribe from all emails from the goods you’ve already maxed out on. The temptation to stock up and overspend will be stomped right out. 

Unroll.me, Jace AI, or Leave Me Alone (how good) are excellent tools.

No more stockpiling of bath bombs, no new notebooks, and certainly no artisanal sauces until you get through the ones you've got. Better for your bank, the planet, your bathroom cabinet and your pantry.  

Set A Spending Alert 

Image Credit: Superette | Instagram

Chances are you’ll be Black Friday-ing across multiple days, if not weeks. It’s easy to get swept up, so you’ll want a notification that tells you if you’re getting close to your budget. 

We’re a fan of Westpac’s spending alerts that tell us when particular amounts hit—or go below—a certain balance. 

Have A Financial Date With Yourself 

A trend in self-care rituals that we can 100% get on board with for your financial hauora (wellbeing) is the financial date. 

It’s you, your dinner table, your laptop, some candles and a nice meal or snack, combing over your last month’s spending—or however long you fancy. It’s a fab way of staying accountable, having a birds-eye view of your spending, and importantly, carving out goals or areas to be mindful in—all in a luxe little setting. 

CashNav, Westpac’s free money management app, is a fave for this ritual. You’ll find a breakdown of spending history, the ability to customise categories and even a daily summary—perfect for the Friday itself. 

Ready to make smarter money choices? Head to Westpac for more information.

Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by Westpac and proudly endorsed by Urban List. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who make Urban List possible. Click here for more information on our editorial policy.

Hero image credit: Crushes Store NZ | Website