Black Friday is upon us again and there is lots of excitement, lots of expectations and lots of hope for a really cheap deal.

But before you race out on Friday, you should do a few things to prevent waking up on Saturday morning with buyers regret about things you bought that you don’t need, and even worse if you overspend, and do it on credit, the pain could last a lot longer.

Now, don’t think that we have anything against Black Friday.  While we are not going to join the bun fight, some of our friends and family will, and if they are prepared to persevere to get a really good deal, that’s wonderful.

READ MORE: What is responsible credit?

There are a few things to do before Black Friday to make sure that you have a pleasant experience.

1. Work with a budget – know exactly what your maximum spend is, know exactly how much cash you have, and very importantly…
2. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you. There will be a shopping frenzy, you will be tempted to buy things you don’t need because they are so cheap, don’t be tempted to over spend.
3. Do your research. Not all retailers are ethical and some will put up the price this week so that they can offer a bigger discount on Black Friday. Decide what you need or want, and go online and see what the best normal price is that you can find, and write it down.
4. Make a list of all the things you want to buy and how much you are prepared to pay for each item.
5. Don’t use debt to buy anything, unless you have the cash to pay it off at the end of the month in full and avoid interest charges, why buy something cheap on credit and then pay interest and costs on it that sounds counter-productive to me.

Black Friday is going to be the start of the holiday debt season for a lot of people, and a lot of people are going to wake up on Saturday, not with a hangover, but with regret for not controlling the buying urge, and that hangover will last a lot longer if you bought things you don’t need on credit.

We don’t believe that the economy is going to improve anytime soon.

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Everyone should be keeping some money in savings for the unexpected, don’t be tempted to spend all your reserves on Black Friday and the holiday season which is basically upon us.

January is never an easy month, so keep your emotions in check on Friday, have a plan, do your research and most important of all, don’t buy items you don’t need on credit.

And if you have done all the right things, then have a fun Black Friday and we hope the discounts are huge.