I am not shopping today.
True, I will be traveling and there will be purchases of food, and gas. Not mutually exclusive.
And there will be purchases of coffee.
These things are true.
It’s not that we won’t be Christmas shopping. But we won’t be fighting the crowds and the parking and the insanity of today.
For years I have been advocating to my family that we spend less on Christmas. For years, we’ve always spent more than we needed to. More often than not, more than we had.
It’s the American way.
Which is really sad when you think about it.
I am continuing to advocate for less spending, more simplicity.
And by golly, before next year I’m getting the attic and the garage cleaned out. If there’s stuff we haven’t even seen in ten years, or more, then we don’t need it.
Maybe somebody else does.
Maybe I’ve got things that someone else will be searching for on Black Friday. Maybe not.
But I don’t need to hang onto it.
And that’s one of the reasons I don’t need to go shopping on Black Friday.
Sure, I’m certain that there are bargains and lower prices.
Not. Worth. It.
At least not to me.
When I was growing up, a shopping trip generally meant an hour or so drive to the closest big city or mall. It involved lunch out, and sometimes dinner.
It was a thing.
Now I avoid the mall at every opportunity.
Maybe I’m old. Maybe it’s a guy thing.
All I know for sure is that on Black Friday, I’ll pretty much be buying coffee.
Black, of course.