It is easy to be lured by the madness of Black Friday sales and not spending is almost unavoidable, many financial advisers acknowledge.
But the bottom line is: avoid reckless spending and don't do what you will regret later.
"Temptation is real and consumers often struggle with saying no to sales items and end up splurging huge amounts of money on items they don't need," John Manyike, head of financial education at Old Mutual, says.
If you're planning on taking advantage of Black Friday sales, do so consciously.
And whatever you do, don't increase your credit card limit just so you can be part of Black Friday, Manyike says.
Ideally, you should save from the beginning of the year so that by November you have what you want to spend on Black Friday sales.
The mistake that consumers often make is to overspend on unplanned purchases, Eunice Sibiya, head of consumer education at FNB, says.
Remember your best option is not to spend any additional income you may have had the fortune to get at this time of the year on Black Friday and Christmas shopping, but rather to allocate more money to pay off debt or towards savings and investments, Sibiya advises bargain hunters.
The upsurge in credit card purchases over Black Friday may be good for banks, but you must always remember that whenever you use credit, you will pay for the same product over a period of four to five years, which effectively means that you will pay for the same product a number of times over, Thabani Ndwandwe, head of credit risk at Standard Bank, says.
Avoid Black Friday madness
It is easy to be lured by the madness of Black Friday sales and not spending is almost unavoidable, many financial advisers acknowledge.
But the bottom line is: avoid reckless spending and don't do what you will regret later.
"Temptation is real and consumers often struggle with saying no to sales items and end up splurging huge amounts of money on items they don't need," John Manyike, head of financial education at Old Mutual, says.
If you're planning on taking advantage of Black Friday sales, do so consciously.
And whatever you do, don't increase your credit card limit just so you can be part of Black Friday, Manyike says.
Ideally, you should save from the beginning of the year so that by November you have what you want to spend on Black Friday sales.
The mistake that consumers often make is to overspend on unplanned purchases, Eunice Sibiya, head of consumer education at FNB, says.
Remember your best option is not to spend any additional income you may have had the fortune to get at this time of the year on Black Friday and Christmas shopping, but rather to allocate more money to pay off debt or towards savings and investments, Sibiya advises bargain hunters.
The upsurge in credit card purchases over Black Friday may be good for banks, but you must always remember that whenever you use credit, you will pay for the same product over a period of four to five years, which effectively means that you will pay for the same product a number of times over, Thabani Ndwandwe, head of credit risk at Standard Bank, says.