For those of us in America, Thanksgiving is just around the corner and that can only mean one thing: BLACK FRIDAY.

What is Black Friday? It’s the largest consumer holiday of the year during which retailers conduct massive limited time sales to launch the official holiday shopping season. Sales start at all hours of the night during and right after Thanksgiving with “doorbuster” specials to entice the masses of supposed deal-hunters to campout and line up for hours to get their hands on the coveted, heavily discounted, merchandise. Legend has it that this day actually got its name because it’s the day that retailers got “into the black” in their finances for the year.

Or here’s another way to look at it:

Black Friday: Because only in America do people trample each other for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have.

Well, seeing that we’re all about saving the crumbs, we would be failing you if we did not share with you the single best Black Friday deal of all. Are you ready? Are you sure you can handle it? Here it is:

The 100% off deal: You spend $0 to not buy what you don’t need. 

But wait! There’s more!

This deal is available to you 7 days a week, 365 days a year!

The Worst of Human Nature

Now, I’m all for getting things we need at a good price. But the key is “NEED”. Black Friday (and pretty much all of the holiday season) tries to bait us consumers to buy a bunch of junk that we simply don’t need. I’m tempted to lose my faith in humanity when middle-aged mothers get into a catfight over who gets the last $5 “doorbuster” toaster at Target. Come on people! It’s like the worst of human nature is on display on Black Friday.

The best thing to do on Black Friday is simply to remember the most important thing you can do to save money: Don’t buy what you don’t need. If you DO have something that you need, do your research, figure out exactly the best deal, go in for a surgical strike, and then haul tail outta there as fast as you can! Even better, shop for those deals online and have them delivered straight to your door.  Of course, be sure to remember to use Cardpool and BigCrumbs to make sure you save additional percentages off every purchase you make, wherever it is.

In closing, I thought I’d just leave you with a quick list of what I think are top 10 reasons to skip going Black Friday shopping.

Reasons to Not Go Black Friday Shopping

  1. You get to sleep in. (If you don’t have to work, that is.)
  2. You get to stay home where it’s warm instead of standing in line in the polar vortex.
  3. You get to recover from the Thanksgiving dinner hangover.
  4. You can often get better deals online on Cyber Monday or even other times of the year.
  5. What you want is probably going to be sold out by the time you get there anyway.
  6. You should spend your holiday with loved ones not cranky sleep-deprived strangers.
  7. You don’t have to worry about getting claustrophobic in packed stores.  Just think of the germs!
  8. You won’t feel guilty about selling your soul to consumerism one day after celebrating a holiday all about thankfulness and contentment.
  9. You’re less likely to suffer personal injury by being trampled, punched, or otherwise physically abused.*
  10. You’re less likely to die.*

*Lest you think I’m joking, check out these websites to see the casualties at previous Black Fridays:  13 Most Brutal Black Friday Injuries and Deaths, Black Friday Death Count.