Black Friday Tip: Stay Home!

Anyone who knows me is well aware that I do not go out and shop on Black Friday. Part of the reason for that is that I dislike shopping. Quite a bit. The other part of it is that, if I really get a burning desire to buy something on Black Friday, I can just do it from the comfort of my own home, and make purchases online.

Here are some reasons that I prefer to stay home on Black Friday:

No need to deal with the traffic and the people : I don’t mind crowds when I’m at a fair, at a ball game or at a concert. I expect a press of people. However, when I go shopping, I prefer to have a little personal space. Since I don’t particularly enjoy shopping anyway, I find it much more bearable when I’m not fighting traffic, and then fighting crowds in the stores.

: I don’t mind crowds when I’m at a fair, at a ball game or at a concert. I expect a press of people. However, when I go shopping, I prefer to have a little personal space. Since I don’t particularly enjoy shopping anyway, I find it much more bearable when I’m not fighting traffic, and then fighting crowds in the stores. No standing in a long line outside : I have friends who love the whole Black Friday experience. They enjoy standing in line, and consider it a badge of honor to have waited hours in the cold to get that doorbuster. And that’s fine. It’s just not my idea of a good time. I prefer to sleep in a little, and stay warm and toasty inside my house.

: I have friends who love the whole Black Friday experience. They enjoy standing in line, and consider it a badge of honor to have waited hours in the cold to get that doorbuster. And that’s fine. It’s just not my idea of a good time. I prefer to sleep in a little, and stay warm and toasty inside my house. More time with family : My son doesn’t want to tromp all over town on Black Friday, so bringing him along wouldn’t really count as “quality time.” My husband and the visitors we have don’t usually like going out either. So, if I were to decide to head out, I would be missing out on family time. Instead, I’d rather play a little Tekken with my brother-in-law and chess with my son.

: My son doesn’t want to tromp all over town on Black Friday, so bringing him along wouldn’t really count as “quality time.” My husband and the visitors we have don’t usually like going out either. So, if I were to decide to head out, I would be missing out on family time. Instead, I’d rather play a little Tekken with my brother-in-law and chess with my son. Plenty of great deals online: There are plenty of great deals online. My husband has already be hitting Amazon, looking at the “Lightning Deals” already up, and getting in on some of the action. And, of course, there are plenty of places offering free shipping in some form. (You can check out FreeShipping.org for more information on retailers offering free shipping.)

Of course, this is just my preference. I know that there are some advantages to going out on Black Friday. The main draw always seems to be the door busters. Indeed, there are some diehards that have been camping out since November 22 in 2011. That’s a long time to camp out in the cold. But these door busters are often not offered online. They are only available in limited quantities, and if you don’t line up, you could miss out. As a result, it seems only natural, that some would wait in line in an effort to snag these deals unavailable elsewhere.

There are ways to get the most out of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but you really need to decide whether it’s worth it. Is standing in line for hours worth the chance that you could get a great door buster deal? Are the savings really that great? Before you head out on Black Friday, evaluate the options, and consider that maybe staying home might actually be better in the long run.