The average American will spend nearly $1,500 this holiday season. And Black Friday (the busiest shopping day of the year) is the official beginning of the spending.
In fact, over 130 million shoppers will go shopping on that day. But the entire premise of Black Friday is based on the foundation of selling us things we don’t need.
If you don’t need an item on Thursday… why would you need it on Friday?
Or… what makes Black Friday any different than last Friday? If you didn’t need an item in your life last week, why would it be suddenly needed this week?
And yet many of us will succumb to the cultural expectation of shopping on Black Friday spending over $1,000 this weekend unnecessarily buying things we don’t need, adding to the collection of unneeded items already cluttering up our closets, drawers, basements, and garages.
Look around your home, you already have everything you need. If you really did need something, you already went to the store and bought it—well before a special Friday randomly placed after a holiday in November.
Your family already has everything it needs.
The things we buy on Black Friday are, almost by definition, things we don’t need. Only in America do we wait in line and push past others to buy items one day after giving thanks for everything we already have.
All those Black Friday ads you keep seeing—they are only there to convince you to buy something you don’t need.
And that’s exactly how they do it. Every advertisement, at its core, seeks to convince you that you will be happier if you buy whatever they’re selling. They stir up discontent and work to convince us that our lives will be happier, more convenient, more luxurious, or more impressive if we buy what they are selling.
The goal of advertising is to change our minds about what we need. As a result, what seemed entirely unnecessary last year has become this year’s must-have product.
But if it wasn’t needed last year, it isn’t needed this year.
How do we save our hard-earned money during Black Friday? We turn off the noise.
We turn off the messaging that is directly designed to convince us to buy things we don’t need.
This holiday season, rather than entertaining all the offers that will arrive in your email inbox, unsubscribe from as many retailer emails as you possibly can.
And see how much you save—not just financially, but in your humanity.
At the bottom of every email you receive this week announcing the biggest and best Black Friday sales, you will find a small sentence (usually in the fine print) that says, “To unsubscribe, click here.”
Go ahead, click unsubscribe. And turn off the noise.
At first, the project will seem unwinnable. But trust me, it is a battle you can win—and will be happier when you do.
At first, you might be clicking dozens and dozens of “unsubscribe” buttons every day. But slowly, the number of advertisements you receive in your inbox will get less and less. You may click 50 emails the first day… 40 emails the second day… 30 emails the third day… but you will be surprised how quickly they begin to subside.
When they do, you will discover a new level of peace and contentment in your life. You will discover a new approach to the holiday season.
Rather than being constantly bombarded with pictures of all the things you don’t have, you will be reminded of all the blessings you do have.
Thanksgiving will no longer become a day to map out your shopping path for Black Friday. Thanksgiving will become a day to give thanks for your blessings. Besides, if you are not content today, there is nothing you can buy this weekend to change that.
As you unsubscribe from the constant barrage of emails telling you that you don’t have enough, you will feel less manipulated. You will feel more like a human and less like a consumer.
And you’ll save $1,500 in the process.
R1234 says
My family has always taken advantage of Black Friday to get things that we need (usually not a lot: we usually run our things, and in particular our more expensive things – appliances, cars, computers, phones, etc. – into the ground before we replace them, so we don’t have to do it very often, but when they do die, we *have* to replace them, and thankfully only some of them we actually have to buy new) at a discount, as well as get the specified gifts for Angel Tree and other similar organizations/programs that we signed up for, and get hats/scarves/mittens/etc. at a reduced price for the various donation programs at church. We always bring a list of the things we need to get, and we stick to it.
As other commenters have mentioned, just because you don’t already have something doesn’t mean you don’t need it – “you already have everything you need” isn’t necessarily true, because there are things that eventually break/wear out and have to be replaced; or that, for various reasons, become necessary even when they weren’t before; or that you need but you have to save for and/or are only able to afford at Black Friday’s discounted prices.
Our family tries to stick to wish lists, so that does help somewhat to cut down on the unwanted gifts. It also means we don’t have to stress about trying to figure out what someone might want/need, because they’ve already told us by giving us their list.
Janice says
This is just what I needed to hear. Thank you for a fantastic article.
Jean | Delightful Repast says
I completely tuned out “the noise” so long ago that I can’t believe that throngs of people jump into the fray every year. Thanks for doing the math and letting me know exactly how much money I’ll be saving tomorrow!
Gloria Gaunt says
We will be participating in Opt Outside, we are going on a guided hike in our local county park on Black Friday.
Corina says
I really needed to hear that one sentence, “look around your home, you already have everything you need.”
I really struggle with impulse control when it comes to shopping and it is especially challenging during the holidays. This blog is an encouragement for me to change my life and habits even if I have to swim against the current. Thank you!
Jennifer P. says
I never support Black Friday or any other publicized mass shopping day. Instead I go to flea markets, farmers markets, and yard sales throughout the year, and if I see something special and unique that would tickle the heart of someone I love, I buy it and put it away (sometimes for months) in a box reserved for the holidays. Often I find underpriced estate jewelry or antique books in a subject the recipient collects. I’ve found beaded evening purses, cobalt blue bottles for a friend who collects them, posters, antique baby quilts and brand-new appliances. I try to tailor each gift to the recipient. At one yard sale I got a free concrete bird bath — beautifully decorated — because the owners couldn’t take it with them.
As the holidays approach, I hit the farmer’s market for fresh baked goods, beeswax candles, organic honey and unusual stocking stuffers.
Only then do I swoop into bigger stores and pick up gift necessities on my list, such as clothing or brand name whatever. Even so, I try to shop on-line and have gifts sent directly to the recipient with a gift receipt enclosed, so I’m not tempted by items I don’t need.
I went from spending about $1,500 per year for holiday gifts to about $600, plus the cost of postage for mailing packages, local tips for service people, and holiday foods and refreshments. We still celebrate, and have a wonderful time, with more money in our pockets. With this method, you’ll never need to use credit cards, so when January and February come, you can relax. Most importantly, you’ve given each person you love something thoughtful and special that shows you were thinking about them.
Adriana Martinez says
I always enjoy reading all this articles about minimalist
Thank you for all this work
It’s amazing thank you
Thank you
Yvette says
Very interesting and thought provoking story
Georg says
Dear Joshua,
First of all: Thanks for all your Articles and all you do to promote the Concept of minimalism!
When i started to implement minimalism in my life and „Started the journey“ it was Your articles and the Ones that you recommend that encouraged me to go on and helped me to get a deeper understanding of this way of life. And it changed me a lot in many good ways. I can‘t thank you enough for this!
Now a Comment on this post of yours: as a german guy working for an American company for several years now i learned much about the american way To see the world. And from my german perspective this made me think about the cultural differences of interpreting the Concept of minimalism.
Marketing campaigns like Black Friday are for sure Not unique and Not only Applied in America, but also in Europe and many other countries Around the world, because the basic principle is to make us buy things we don‘t need as you correctly stated. And this principle works in Any country.
In your article you remind us not the be tricked this kind of campaign to Consume unneeded things, but there is more to this. From my experiences i got the impression That for americans it is not only about consuming, But also about our fears that make us consume to fight this fears.
To give an example: my grandmother-in-law grew Up during WWII in east Berlin. After the war ended the russians robbed the russian sector of berlin of everything that had any value. Due to this my „grandma“ starved as a child and for them it was like christmas, halloween, birthday and thanksgiving at once when they got allotted 50g of Sugar by the authorities. This deeply „Programmed“ my grandma forever.
After germany was reunited and capitalism entered the now Ex-GDR she started „shopping food like hell“ and has still more food in her fridge every day Than a whole family needs for a week because of her childhood experiences.
Now she is 82 and still shops like hell and cannot stop.
The funny thing is – in Every other aspect of life she is a rolemodel minimalist except the food.
To make a long story Short:
Our experiences in life shape our behavior, advertisements can only trigger this experiences (and insecurities/fears).
So calming this ad-storm down By unsubscribing from newsletters certainly helps, but the Question should also be: why did we subscribe to all These newsletters in the First place?
What was our intention and past experiences that made us do this?
Jill D says
Very thoughtful comment. Thank you! I guess a question to ask ourselves is “what are you afraid of?” Or “what hole are you trying to fill?”
My grandparents (and parents as very young children) lived through the Great Depression in the 1930s and I know those experiences greatly shaped them and their world view.
Suzy Toronto says
I loved this comment and the story of occupied Germany. I too am a minimalist in very way but one from a childhood trauma. Luckily my need to hoard one, and only one, thing is not dibilitating but very much real. Too much energy to let go if it and and it’s not hurting me or my family so I stash it. I sooo get your mother!
Kate says
I love that REI (a large outdoor gear store) will be closed on Black Friday. This is so REI employees and customers can enjoy spending time outdoors, hiking as a family, etc. instead of shopping on Friday. They have also been handing out reusable tote bags for trash so that when customers head for the outdoors they will also pick up trash. What a great example!
Valerie Rogers says
Hard to change habits so intrenched in society. Wish i could not see anything pertaining to holiday shopping. Marketing has a lot of power, but our choices are even more powerful. Collectively we can make a reversal about all this holiday trappings/shopping lunacy.