Black Friday and Christmas fall just a few weeks apart every year. Without a plan, it is easy to spend far more than intended during this stretch, sometimes more than your account can comfortably handle. The good news: with a little preparation, you can get through this season of discounts and gifts relaxed, and without ending up in new debt.
Why mid October is the right time to plan
In mid October, Christmas still feels far away. That is exactly what makes this the right moment to plan. Starting now gives you several weeks to set money aside, instead of scrambling for a solution in December. Planning takes only a few minutes, but it saves a lot of stress later.
Set a gift budget before the first discount tempts you
A gift budget is simply a list: who will you give a gift to, and how much is that gift allowed to cost at most? Start by writing down everyone you want to give a Christmas gift to. Next to each name, write a fixed amount you are willing to spend on that person. Then add up all the amounts.
For example: for five people, you plan 30 euros each. That adds up to a total of 150 euros for all the gifts. On top of that, you might add 50 euros for decorations or a Christmas meal. Now you know the total amount you need to plan for, and you can compare it with what you actually have available.
Spotting discount traps on Black Friday
Black Friday is a shopping day, usually the last Friday in November, when many shops and online stores advertise unusually large discounts. Not every discount shown is actually as good as it looks. A common trick is inflating the 'original price' beforehand, so the later discount looks bigger than it really is.
Watch out for these signs before you buy anything:
- Messages like 'only 2 left in stock' or a countdown timer meant to rush you into a quick decision.
- A crossed-out 'old price' that you never actually saw at that shop before.
- Bundles or packages that include items you do not actually need.
- The feeling that you must buy something right now because 'the deal ends today'. A genuinely good deal rarely disappears, but that uneasy feeling while buying often does not go away.
A simple safeguard: write down beforehand what you genuinely need or want to give as a gift, and at what price it is actually worth buying. On Black Friday, only buy what is already on that list.
Be careful with 'buy now, pay later' at Christmas
At checkout, especially online, more and more shops offer a payment method often advertised as 'buy now, pay later', commonly shortened to BNPL. Instead of paying the full amount once, you pay it off in several smaller installments over the following weeks or months.
This sounds convenient, but at Christmas it carries a particular risk: if you use this option for several purchases at once, one gift here, another gift there, it becomes easy to lose track of how many small payments are actually due in January and February. If an installment is not paid on time, extra fees or interest often apply. The new year then starts not with a clean slate, but with old bills still outstanding.
A simple rule: only use buy now, pay later when you already know exactly which money will cover each individual installment, and keep a written list of every installment plan you currently have running.
Saving ahead instead of stressing in December
The most relaxed way through Black Friday and Christmas is having the money ready beforehand. Divide your gift budget by the number of weeks left until Christmas. With a total budget of 150 euros and ten weeks to go, that is 15 euros a week you can set aside.
It helps to keep this money separate from your everyday current account, for example in its own savings account. That way, on the day you actually shop, you immediately know how much money is genuinely available for gifts, without accidentally dipping into money meant for rent or other fixed costs. You can read more about savings accounts at /en/deposits.