Black Friday 2021 is already in full swing. My inbox has been brimming with emails offering me ‘bargains’ and websites are splashed with banners advertising their wares. But with sales and discounts offered so frequently, the Black Friday promise becomes another voice in a baying crowd that’s hungry for a sale.
If I sound a bit sceptical, let me reassure you that I absolutely love a bargain. The difference being that it needs to be something that I actually intend to buy. So if you have a Black Friday wishlist and you can save some money, get in there and grab a bargain!
This year I’ve decided to view Black Friday from a slightly different angle. I have no items on my wishlist but I do have a dream. And as I’ve been reflecting on this week, it’s got me rather excited.
Black Friday 2021 – A New Perspective
Since reading Your Money or Your Life, I’ve been struck by the concept that money is a physical representation of our energy, and if used wisely, it can provide us with time freedom. Using this principle, each time we spend money on something we don’t truly want, we sacrifice our freedom.
Add Black Friday to this equation, a time where many people are tempted to buy things purely because they believe it to be ‘a bargain’ and the result is that people are trading their time freedom for something that they don’t really want.
Alan Donegan writes more about this in his recent Black Friday blog post, adding a twist to the idea of Black Friday spending. It was interesting to see that our thoughts aligned and that we were both drawn to the idea of using Black Friday as a springboard to create freedom. While Alan goes down the route of investing, I’ve been pondering something else…
Claim It Back Friday vs Black Friday 2021
Yes, the pun is entirely intended and as I couldn’t think of a catchier name, that one stuck in my head. So my idea is to use Black Friday as a time to actively create freedom. Rather than perusing the sales, you choose one action to commit to for the year that either saves or makes you money. Instead of spending, you save.
Some of my initial thoughts on what people could commit to are listed below:
- Sell your unwanted things
- Weekly meal planning (need inspiration – check this out)
- Commit to a monthly no spend day challenge
- Dedicate time to that hobby or skill – can you turn it into a side hustle?
- Get your entrepreneurial juices flowing and learn how to start your own business or side-hustle for free at the Rebel Business School (see my experience of attending here)
- Begin your journey to financial independence (the books that transformed my money mindset can be found here)
We’re all at different stages in our journey with different ideas of what freedom looks like. But before you hit the Black Friday sales, consider how you could kickstart your freedom instead. Choose just one thing and stick with it until Black Friday 2022. Who knows what magic will happen in those 365 days!
My Claim It Back Friday Plan
I fully intend to turn Black Friday on its head and commit to using the next 365 days to create financial freedom. As you may recall, I released my first self-published book, Seasons of Change, last month. I absolutely loved writing it and it’s had an excellent reception so far. The reviews have brought a tear to my eye!
It has been an ambition of mine to make my living as an author, so my goal is to use the next 365 days to make this a reality. Is it doable? I have no idea. But what I do know is that I’m going to love the process, so it’s a win-win situation. Because when you spend time doing what you love, it doesn’t feel like work.
So I’m looking forward to 365 days of creativity and seeing where this journey takes me. My ultimate goal is to make enough monthly income from my books to pay my bills by Black Friday 2022. There it is, I’ve put my commitment out to the universe, let’s watch the magic unfold.
I’ll pop regular updates on here so you can see how it’s going. Now it’s time to make this Black Friday Claim It Back Friday one to remember!
Image courtesy of Katie Harp