Black Friday and How to Better Spend That $372.57

This week marks my 32nd Thanksgiving holiday. This week also marks the 32nd time, give or take the few years I was sublimely oblivious to the atrocity of "Black Friday," that I have witnessed a frightening display of consumerism. For those who do not know the term, "Black Friday" is the day after Thanksgiving where people line up outside of stores during the wee hours of the morning to buy stuff...and lots of it.

Each year it seems these lines get more and more vicious as retailers snag people into thinking that this is the ONLY time they will ever find a deal for Christmas Treasures. People have actually been trampled by those who have an irrational fear of missing out on the hot new toy that retailers spend millions of dollars pushing on the unsuspecting public.

The "American way" is to make the holiday season about buying; yet we insist on calling this a season for giving. People go into an extended spending frenzy in an effort to show how much they really care. We're told that caring equals buying. Our spending as a nation is out of hand as it is. We buy billions of dollars of useless products each year in a misguided effort to create better lives for ourselves. If we took the time to actually improve our communities and the lives of those around us then maybe we would be satisfied with who we are as individuals.

Last year (2008) the average consumer in America spent approximately $372.57 on Black Friday at giant retailers. Instead of going on a tirade about the giants and their campaign to get America deeper into debt, it might be better to offer an alternate way to spend your money.

After quite a bit of research, I found the following items on sale. We'll just call this Cicily's Discount Mart. If I had a more sophisticated ad-design software than Microsoft Word, I would circulate an ad across the nation in hopes of having people line up at my door at 3 a.m. for these items.

This year only $372.57 can buy you the following:

(all numbers are approximate)

• 1 month of health care coverage for one person in the United States
• 7 weeks of food for one child under the age of ten
• 2 weeks of food for a family of four
• 1 semester's worth of textbooks for a college student
• 2.5 months of electricity
• 12 winter jackets for children
• 14 months of birth control pills or other contraceptive methods for one woman
• 15 months of prescription drug coverage
• 3 manual wheelchairs for disabled men and women
• 1 month of rent in a lower-income housing development or apartment complex
• 1 M-16 Rifle for our troops overseas
• 19 Fleece Blankets
• 1 acre of land in rural West Texas
• 30 Oak Tree Saplings
• 1 new computer for an underprivileged school
• 2 years of a season subscription to the symphony (Orchestra level tickets)
• 1 12x18 original oil painting by a struggling artist in your community
• 2 8x10 original oil paintings by a college art student
• 1 semester class at your local community college
• 1 to 3 round trip plane tickets to have actual face time with loved ones in the continental United States
• 1.5 years of dental care
• 5 months of internet access for one U.S. household
• 15 years of state park passes
• 1 year membership to local fitness/health club
• 5 one-hour appointments with a registered dietitian
• 3 one-hour sessions with a certified financial planner
• 1 complete course of study to become a Certified Nurse's Assistant (Major Shortage across the United States for this very important job)
• 8 dental exams complete with cleaning and basic x-rays
• 310 sq. ft. of insulation to make your house more energy efficient
• 17 Gallons of paint including ladder, brushes and tape to increase your house's value
• 100 sq. ft of carpet to add value to your home
• 165 loads of laundry at a laundromat
• 1,900 bars of soap
• 10 adult winter jackets
• 35 plain adult sweat shirts or sweat pants
• 15 shows including the one-drink minimum at places like the 55 Bar, Smalls, Jazz Standard, or Jazz Gallery to support local jazz musicians in New York or other cities around the US
• 13 pints of blood, processed and delivered to patients in need (Make a donation to the Red Cross)
• 2 weeks of summer camp for a Boy Scout or Girl Scout
• 10 one-year memberships for underprivileged families to local Boys or Girls Clubs for after-school care
• 1 month of care for one foster child
• 4 months of public transportation in the average metropolitan city

*And just so you know, you could be preventing numbers like this from going up:

372: average number of homeless people who die per year in major cities in the US like Los Angeles

372: deaths that take place every 2 months in the United States from preventable disease

I hope to see you on the other side of Black Friday, one in which we decide to spend time with each other, giving of our time and our wealth of individual talents and resources in order to show the true meaning of caring. People, not the stuff they own, are what make this world a better place.

 

 

 

Follow Cicily Janus on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jazzwriterchick

Comments

[roudy]

12:12 AM on 11/28/2009

I spend 10.00 on electrical and plumbing parts for a remodel, I think that is the most I ever spend on black friday.

[Epiphany2b]

04:20 PM on 11/27/2009

I bet if most of the men (rural only?) didn't go out hunting Thanksgiving weekend, the shopping tradition would never have started. I believe it began as something the women could do together while the men were out "bringing home the bacon".

[Epiphany2b]

04:18 PM on 11/27/2009

I guess I have to wonder about the connection between jobs (people having money to spend) and not spending money on products or services. If the services and products are not sold, people lose their jobs, and therefore don't have money to spend anyway. Everyone knows this. So if we are responsible and save our money rather than spend it, people end up losing their jobs. Maybe it's time to go back to the barter system.

[Cicily Janus]

07:34 PM on 11/27/2009

Going back to the Barter System is something I wish we could do. I know lots of artists in my community who barter with other artists. For instance, I will gladly do content writing and or bio work for other artists in exchange for lessons for children or possible website reciprocation. The cycle of spending to earn money to keep jobs to spend more money is one in which won't be broken, it's just the way our country and many more are now. As Wynton told me in an interview, "There's no sense in trying to change the world, it's just too big to mess with at this point." But, of course we can all pitch in to do our part to make the four walls that surround us a better place to live in.

[soapboxdiva]

08:15 PM on 11/27/2009

You may be interested in this book. In it the writer predicts the economic meltdown and discusses the merits of the barter system.

http://www.geoffdavies.com/

[JBS]

02:46 PM on 11/27/2009

I don't have $372.57 to spend today.

Wouldn't, even if I did.

If I had money, I probably would get gifts for my family for Christmas - just NOT TODAY. And probably not that much in any case.

[Trittydi]

02:20 PM on 11/27/2009

Nice ideas. We don't have close to that amount of money to spend. We stay home on black friday.
*

[nolookpass]

01:55 PM on 11/27/2009

Well I am very fortunate that I went shopping on Black Friday. I was able to purchase a midlevel laptop for the price of a low end laptop. So instead of getting my son a laptop that would only surf the web and do emails, he will get one for the same price that has 4 gig of ram a dual core processor and 350 gig of hard drive space.

Could I have bough tthis laptop for the same price later? Maybe but I would have had to spend the difference in gas looking for the clearance items if I wanted it for Christmas. Nothing online compared to this deal because I did not want to stand in the cold either but this deal was worth it and they had 3 of them. We got two of the three and my mom was blessed by this as she is a writer and my son will be blessed by this when he goes on to college.

So I was very pleased that we were able because of black friday to be able to purchase something much much nicer than we normally could have afforded.

[j-tho]

12:39 PM on 11/27/2009

i suggest that the term "average american consumer" in this story should be modified to read "the average american consumer WHO PARTICIPATES IN THE BLACK FRIDAY CIRCUS" ~ my reading suggests that a quite small proportion of us actually shop this day, so i doubt very much that "the average american consumer" spends anywhere near $300+ this day.

[Cicily Janus]

11:54 PM on 11/27/2009

Hi J-tho,

I agree. There are many of us who do not participate in this day. I was only going by the statistics that I found on previous Black Friday's. Sorry to lump us all into one category. The amount was more of the consumer who does shop this day spends that amount. The consumers that shop this day are very large in their numbers but no, by all means, this doesn't mean all of us.

Thanks for clarifying.

~C

[motoGpifupleez]

11:55 AM on 11/27/2009

I am resting comfortably at home. Completely happy to NOT go to into "Black Friday" fray.

[Hoelder]

11:45 AM on 11/27/2009

I wonder who spends my $372, since I never do Black Friday.

[Dr. Judith Rich]

10:47 AM on 11/27/2009

Oh, thank you so much for this post! My post this week is also about Black Friday:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-judith-rich/braving-black-friday-risk_b_368199.html

I love that you included alternative ways to spend that $372.57 and the other suggestions from your readers. I'll be following this topic in my next post and will definitely link to your article.

Today is Black Friday and I'm so happy to be at home, celebrating Buy Nothing Day.

Best to you,
Judith Rich

[Cicily Janus]

07:36 PM on 11/27/2009

Thank you so much Judith for your reply and your link. Nice to meet you on here. Buy Nothing Day is a great way to spend time with your family and loved ones.

[shadowgm]

09:24 AM on 11/27/2009

Cicily, there are people in our area who have been camping out in front of stores like Best Buy and Wal-Mart since TUESDAY NIGHT.

If you can afford to plunk down $500 for a big screen TV, why not contribute to a local food bank, Toys for Tots, One Warm Coat, or other charities? You don't have to save the world, and you don't have to spend the entire amount on charity - just be a bit more mindful, a bit more modest.

[nolookpass]

01:59 PM on 11/27/2009

Or buy the big screen and enjoy it this is America, people should not have to feel ashamed of owning a big screen tv. The poor in America typically own a car or two and a couple tv's. We have the wealthiest poor in the world. Apples to Apples the poor in other countries would love to be considered poor in America.

[rtolmach]

06:11 PM on 11/26/2009

A nonprofit website, http://ChangingThePresent.org makes it easy to give charitable gifts in the name of friends. Another, http://ClassWish.org lets you see exactly what schools and classrooms need and how you can help.

[AirViceMarshalPark]

03:18 AM on 11/25/2009

I might spend the 57 cents part of that. Anybody who goes to a big box retailer on black Friday is a masochist. I plan to go to work and go home, draw the curtains, build a fire in the fireplace, have a nice family dinner and play a game of Monopoly or penny-ante poker.

That's where the 57 cents comes in.

[ObamaYouBetcha]

07:38 PM on 11/24/2009

What a powerful statement - thank you for sharing this list! I wish those giant retailers would STOP their incessant advertising for Black Friday (who on earth NEEDS to shop at The Gap starting at 3:00 a.m. on Friday morning?) and donate that money to any number of more worthy causes. Just imagine what those millions of advertising dollars could do for hungry families or people without health care.

[Cicily Janus]

07:57 PM on 11/24/2009

I didn't even get started on the advertising money! Thank you so much for reading and for commenting. Oh, what a wonderful world this would be if we could just get this lesson down to those marketing folks and the stores. I had someone today remark that this is a necessary day for our economy to thrive. I believe it's a HUGELY FIERCE cycle of spending. Encouraging people who don't have the money to go spend more than they have on this STUFF is "freeing" them to get more into debt and more in trouble.

Spending money equals jobs? Sure. I'm not telling people to NOT spend their money. I'm asking you to throw your money back into the economy in a smart way. This does not encourage homelessness or a downfall in the market. Thanks so much for your thoughts...make sure you follow me on twitter.

[Tanja Aitamurto]

02:41 PM on 11/24/2009

Excellent post! Thanks!