What are Black Friday Sales, and why should I care?

I’m about to leave on holidays to the US and all my friends are crazy-jealous about my upcoming shopping holiday. I tried to convince myself it wasn’t going to BE a shopping holiday, but then I realised I would be in New York for Black Friday and every sightseeing plan I had jumped out the window.

One of my friends asked what Black Friday was when I told her how excited I was.

My eloquent response? “It’s like the Boxing Day sales, but a gazillion times bigger”.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the US and THE ultimate bargain shopping day.

The Thanksgiving holiday period is huge in the US and retailers have clicked onto that idea. Since 2005, Black Friday has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the whole year.

My friends were less than thrilled that I would be in the thick of the action but I explained I’ve actually been taking part in massive shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday for years and until this year had never set foot in the US before.

For those not in the know, Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving. It’s another big sale day, but these sales encourage people to shop online for their bargains instead.

Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by Cash Passport Prepaid MasterCard®. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in their own words. 

One friend was still bummed, explaining she didn’t have a credit card and couldn’t shop online.

Obviously she wasn’t aware of cards like the Cash Passport, the prepaid Mastercard I had been using to make the most of Black Friday sales in previous years.

I’ve already got my Cash Passport ready to take to the US. I also used it when I went to Hawaii earlier this year. I explained to my friend she could get one and that it offers just the same benefits to someone shopping online from Australia.

I’ve loaded my $US onto the card and I know exactly how much I’m paying (and I don’t have to worry about conversion fees like I do with a credit card). I love cards like this, especially for Cyber Monday, as it is not just the USA stores that participate and you can load up to 10 currencies on the card, which is awesome.

Once my friends realised that they can have just as much of a chance to grab bargains as I would, we all started scouring our favourite overseas brands and stores and keeping our eyes on our favourite products in anticipation for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

It’s perfect timing too, grabbing bargains for Christmas presents. And anything we can’t find in these sales we can grab from all the Australian stores on Boxing Day.

November and December are every shopper’s dream months.

I can’t wait to see what bargains my friends get on my return.

Normally I’d say I have to leave you because I have to go pack, but I figure my best option is leaving my suitcase empty and hitting the sales head on.

I’ll probably need a second bag on my way home but I’m sure the bargains I’ll find in my Black Friday shopping adventures will be worth it.

Do you love or hate the Boxing Day sales?

We love online shopping! And so do these men from the ‘Miserable Men’ account on Instagram. They are pictures of men who have been broken by hours upon hours of shopping with their wives and girlfriends.

 

Cash Passport is a great way to save when shopping on overseas sites. It’s a prepaid MasterCard^® that lets you load money at locked in exchange rates*. This means you can pay in local currency on overseas sites, so there’s no need to convert your money to Australian dollars – helping you avoid extra currency and transaction fees*.

Plus if you load $200 (AUD equivalent in foreign currency) onto your card before 31 December we’ll add a bonus $10 to your account. Simply use the code MM10 when you apply.*

Visit cashpassport.com.au to find out more and purchase your card.

* T&Cs apply, visit www.cashpassport.com.au for full details. Bonus $10 will be applied to your account within 30 days after loading $200 AUD equivalent on a new Cash Passport Prepaid MasterCard. Offer available to the first 500 customers using code MM10 until the 31^st December 2015.