Taking a loan for bargains a pitfall.
Double check to see if there is a real discount
It is not only professional advisers who warn consumers about getting themselves into financial trouble on Black Friday. Some astute shoppers Sowetan spoke to also had some good advice.
“I only shop on Black Friday if I have saved up enough money to do so,” Laaiqah Jonas said. She bought some things last year, but this year she’s not going to buy anything because she hasn’t managed to save up to do so, she said.
Jonas said she would have loved to buy herself a new TV set but is going to have to pass that up as she is not prepared to go into any form of debt.
“What is the point of getting a loan for that item and then end up paying a lot of interest on the loan? Whether you borrow from the bank or wherever, they all charge interest and because of that you will end up paying the same amount as you would have paid during normal sales, if not more,” she said.
Babalwa Tshona has a different take on Black Friday. She sees it as an opportunity to buy things cheap and re-sell them later. When the Sowetan caught up with her, she had a trolley full of sugar, the price of which had already been slashed at a Pick n Pay branch in the run-up to Black Friday.
“Consumers must double check on the prices on offer so that they see whether there is a real discount. You will notice that sometimes there will only be a R2 difference between the price on offer and the normal price, so it is not really worth your time and effort,” she said.
Samukele Mashele, an honours student, advised fellow students to look for bargains online so that they don’t lose out on study time.
Don’t just go with the flow, shoppers warn
Taking a loan for bargains a pitfall.
Double check to see if there is a real discount
It is not only professional advisers who warn consumers about getting themselves into financial trouble on Black Friday. Some astute shoppers Sowetan spoke to also had some good advice.
“I only shop on Black Friday if I have saved up enough money to do so,” Laaiqah Jonas said. She bought some things last year, but this year she’s not going to buy anything because she hasn’t managed to save up to do so, she said.
Jonas said she would have loved to buy herself a new TV set but is going to have to pass that up as she is not prepared to go into any form of debt.
“What is the point of getting a loan for that item and then end up paying a lot of interest on the loan? Whether you borrow from the bank or wherever, they all charge interest and because of that you will end up paying the same amount as you would have paid during normal sales, if not more,” she said.
Babalwa Tshona has a different take on Black Friday. She sees it as an opportunity to buy things cheap and re-sell them later. When the Sowetan caught up with her, she had a trolley full of sugar, the price of which had already been slashed at a Pick n Pay branch in the run-up to Black Friday.
“Consumers must double check on the prices on offer so that they see whether there is a real discount. You will notice that sometimes there will only be a R2 difference between the price on offer and the normal price, so it is not really worth your time and effort,” she said.
Samukele Mashele, an honours student, advised fellow students to look for bargains online so that they don’t lose out on study time.