According to reports, the average American family spends nearly $1,000 each holiday season. For families who make over $100,000, it is nearly twice as much.
Last year, American shoppers spent nearly $5 billion on Black Friday alone. Think about that for a moment. Five billion dollars—up 17% from the previous year.
One might say that we, collectively, are part of a spending epidemic. It’s not the good kind of spending, and one could arguably say that it should actually be considered overspending.
Joshua Becker, founder of Becoming Minimalist, wakes up early every Black Friday to write. As an advocate of minimalism, he feels that it is his responsibility to help steer us away from consumerism and toward a life of less.
Here is a list of articles he has written about Black Friday and minimalism:
- Reflections on Black Friday Shopping
- 35 Gifts Your Children Will Never Forget
- All the Things You Don’t Need for a Perfect Holiday
The holidays are indeed a tricky time to be a minimalist. With all of the Black Friday sales happening, there is no doubt an allure to buy #allthethings.
Thankfully, it’s only one day, which it makes it easy to move beyond and embrace the things that truly matter. The key is to focus on the gifts we already have, rather than the ones we think we need.
If you are struggling to find the right gift for your loved one, you might consider giving the gift of simplicity to someone you think needs it—Simplify Magazine.
When you subscribe to the magazine, you will be given the opportunity to gift a subscription to a friend of family member for free. That’s two subscriptions for the price of one. We call it BOGO (Buy One, Gift One).
Black Friday can be just another day. We encourage you to let minimalism win.