Ah Black Friday! Basically the free ticket to spend, spend, spend. It’s hard enough sticking to a budget throughout the year but the holiday season with all the sales makes it even harder. What can you do to stick to a budget?
Obviously, there will be purchases that you want to get. So make a list of everything that you want, then figure in what kind of ROI you might expect from each item. If it is relatively low and you don’t have the budget for it right now, then keep it for sometime later. Continue through the rest of your list and you will be able to come up with a smaller list of what is most essential for your business right now.
When it’s time to start shopping, try to keep it online as much as possible. Usually you can get better deals using online coupon tools such as Honey and this way you might not be tempted to buy anything that isn’t on your list. Try and keep it to only those items that you know will help your business to grow at this moment.
If what you’re planning to purchase is a large investment and you will have to get financing, look at your budget and factor this in. Do you have enough money or will you be able to make enough to pay it off as quickly as possible? Will you be able to get enough jobs in the coming months or is it better to hold off until your business is more concrete? Take this into consideration when you’re deciding on what to buy.
Try to avoid credit cards as much as possible when making your purchases. Oftentimes, interest rates are super high, doubling or even tripling the actual cost of the items you bought. Keep track of the money in your bank account and always buy with that in mind.
What are you planning to buy for Black Friday? Let me know in the comments!
