sense most online business are having black friday is it worth buying something or should i pass and try to save my money. im a teen i have around 200$ but i would like to limit myself to 100$ or less. im probably posting this in the wrong place but im not sure, i just want to make a smart choice when it comes to money.
also i will not be investing in stocks or crypto so please dont suggest it.
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Unless you have something in mind that you want, that you know you can get a good deal on, I think you would be better off saving your money than buying something you don’t want/need just for the sake of a black Friday deal.
This whole black Friday thing gets hyped so much that you start to think “I better get in on these bargain prices,” but the truth is that some retailers actually raise their prices on some things in October and then lower them back to regular 40% markup and call it a “SIZZILIN SALE PRICE!!!”
So in conclusion, if there’s something you want, check different sources and compare prices. Otherwise, don’t get scammed into thinking you’re missing out, you are not. Source: I am 55 years old, have worked in retail.
This. Black Friday skus are made specifically for Black Friday. They are made cheaper specifically to sell on black Friday, they aren’t magical deals, they’re low cost crap.
Have more experiences as a teen. Take your friends out to a movie or a dinner, buy some snacks and stay up all night with them playing videogames. That will be more fun than a TV that breaks after 6 months
If you can’t answer this question for yourself, then you don’t have any burning need to spend the money. Just keep it for when you find you actually have a need.
Unless you have something specific you want, I’d advise not to spend money just for the sake of it, even for perceived savings from deals. That’s part of the trick with Black Friday deals - marking things down to get people to buy things they wouldn’t even think to get in the first place.
Some wisdom I remember reading a while ago: if you’re looking at something that is 75% off, just remember you can save 100% by not buying it.
An electric toothbrush.
As someone in their 30’s who didn’t take care of my teeth for a while, I’m going to have to second this recommendation. It will save you a lot of grief down the road.
Don’t spend your money because it’s a " good deal". In theory your guardian(s) are covering the expenses the rest of as as adults just accept. Therefore take advantage and spend your money on what brings you joy.
Great advice. This way they’ll never learn how to handle money!
It’s $100. In 2023 that does not even cover groceries for a middle class household of four for a week.
If you want to advocate absolute austerity to someone who has no expenses yet - go for it. Me? The world is shitty enough as is - of something’s going to make you happy, and you have no other expenses, go for it.
Agreed.
Just because it’s cheaper doesn’t mean that you suddenly need it when you didn’t need it before.
And just because they tell you it’s cheaper doesn’t mean that it is cheaper.
So go price something you want now, so that when the price theoretically falls you know whether it should be bought at all.
If you’re not willing to invest it, and you don’t already have something in mind you want to buy, then I say just save it.
Aside from that it depends on your hobbies. If it were me as a teenager it might be nice to get a decent fishing rod or multitool - something that you will use for a long time into adulthood.
Saving up to travel is also something you probably won’t regret, and will create lifetime memories that define you.
Personally when I was younger, I lost many account credentials and important files when my laptop got stolen at school so an external hard drive is worth it or even a subscription to a cloud based storage provider if you prefer that.
Edit: personally I’d go with an external drive (40ish usd for a tb)
Avoid Black Friday unless you really do your research on the category of products beforehand. If you want to find great deals on stuff, buying used items is usually a good idea.
The answer might be vastly different depending on where you live, what things interest you, and so on. If you have a hobby already, get something related to your hobby.
Do you like tinkering with tech? Maybe buy a raspberry pi (or clone) to mess with, which can be awesome both for learning and for doing useful things for so many purposes.
Do you want to get in better shape? Maybe a resistance band, running shoes, or some weights.
Do you have an interest in art? Maybe a watercolor kit might be a good idea…
Basically it needs to be related to your goals and interests.
Neither. Save your money.
As a counterargument: spend your money. 200 dollars means a lot more to a teenager than a college student (with an on-campus part time job), then when you find yourself at your first full time job you may sometimes be spending 200 dollars like pocket change.
As a result, you will most likely cherish what you buy now for 200 USD way more than what you can buy down the line. That console you need to save up 6 months for right now? It becomes a lot less sentimental when you can afford it every other month. So spend your money on something that you’d like right now. 200 dollars won’t change your life in college much, but it can change your life significantly right now.
It won’t change your life, but the mentality of not spending just because you can will
I’m not advocating that teenagers should save no money. I’m just saying you don’t have to save “all” of it.
Good financial planning isn’t just not spending every cent when you can, it’s also figuring out how to get the most out of your money. There is plenty of expensive stuff that I’ve spent thousands of hours with, which makes them totally worth the investment. There’s no way a teenager would be able to figure that out without some trial and error.
I’d say it’s better to get that out of the way now than later. If you make a bad purchase decision as a teenager, at most you’re short 200 dollars. Maybe that startup idea isn’t exactly what you imagined it to be, but at least you figured that out now than after sinking 20k into MLMs.
If you really want to buy something invest in a hobby of yours. Buy an instrument, used camera lens, whatever you need to do something you like. Stuff like this may last you a long time if you stick with the hobby.
If you already have a hobby, invest in that. Otherwise try something new.
Or don’t participate in Black Friday and save it.
That’s a good question. It’s hard to go back to my teen years but I’d suggest:
- buy a musical instrument and learn to play it, really doesn’t mater which one. Especially during college years everyone who could play anything was suddenly a superstar
- buy some book to learn some skill, again doesn’t matter that much what you learn. I don’t know, like mixing cocktails? Sounds fun. For example by accident I learned “reading of hands”. I quickly learned that it’s bullshit but boy, was it an interresting thing to perform during parties in college
- Nothing really comes to my mind regarding of profesional development. Really at your level most of the stuff you can learn is free online and you don’t need anything expensive
Sounds like you need a cheap guitar
My kids say a gaming system or games, computer hardware.
But only ever makes sense to buy something you already want. Price out the things you want today, at today’s prices, so you can tell if there even IS a discount on black Friday. Spending on something just because it’s cheap makes no sense.
