6 smart financial things to do on Black Friday

If you’ve already taken a sneak peek at Black Friday sales and are wondering whether this will be the year you get up at the crack of dawn to stand in line for those deals, consider some other ways you could be saving. ‘Tis the season to shop away, but that doesn’t mean you have to end the year in debt or kick off the new year with a case of buyer’s remorse.

Making some smart spending decisions this holiday season and backing away from Black Friday madness could be just what you need to keep your finances on track. Here are six smart financial things to do on Black Friday instead of shopping.

1. Refine your holiday shopping list. If you’ve decided to lay low over Black Friday weekend, consider reviewing and refining your holiday shopping list so you can figure out the best places to pick up those must-have items after the Black Friday rush. You can use apps like RetailMeNot or Flipp to shop store ads with a few screen taps, find the best savings on a particular item and digitally clip coupons from your favorite brands. Another way to ensure you get the best prices this holiday season is to sign up for your favorite stores’ email newsletters. Many offer an extra discount for new subscribers and send information about upcoming sales. Putting together a shopping list with estimated prices will help you shop smart as you wrap up your holiday shopping.

2. Review your budget. You have just over a month until the end of the year — how did you do financially this past year? If you had a hard time keeping up with your budget goals or found yourself living from paycheck to paycheck most months of the year, take some time off to review your spending habits in more detail and revise your budget. You may still have some holes in your budget as we head into shopping season, but that doesn’t mean you can’t draft a new plan for the new year now. Take a close look at expenses you could scale back on this upcoming year, and explore ideas to generate extra income to pay down debt or take care of large upcoming expenses.

3. Check your credit report. You get one free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus through AnnualCreditReport.com each year, so take full advantage of the freebie before year’s end. You can check your credit report for any glaring errors and make a plan to contact relevant parties to make corrections. Reviewing your credit report in detail can also give you a fair idea of how much debt you are carrying, which credit cards have the highest balances and other measures of your credit fitness. Take care of this now so you can put yourself in a position to make better financial moves in the upcoming year.

4. Take inventory of tax-deductible donations. As the year draws to a close, don’t overlook the opportunity to take advantage of some tax benefits when donating money or goods to your favorite charities and nonprofit organizations. Put together a comprehensive giving list, and check with each organization to determine whether your donations are tax-deductible. You still have some time to decide what organizations you wish to support this year and can verify whether your donation will be tax-deductible with a quick phone call.

5. Take inventory of items you can sell for cash. Need some fast cash for the holidays? Take inventory of items around the home you could put up for sale on eBay or Craigslist. You can spend Black Friday taking high-quality photos of your items and writing descriptive product descriptions to post on various sites. Take the time to look at similar products for sale so you set a fair price and be flexible with your offer so you can sell those items — and get the cash you need — even faster.

6. Revise your savings strategy. Experts say you should save about 15 percent of your income. If you didn’t get close to that amount this year, consider revising your budget to accommodate for savings contributions as a monthly recurring expense. Take a look at your savings balance as the year comes to an end and consider what you could have done differently over the past year. Analyzing some of your spending habits and setting realistic savings targets could help you start the new year on the right track.

More from U.S. News

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9 Ways to Save When Holiday Shopping With Credit Cards

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6 Smart Financial Things to Do On Black Friday originally appeared on usnews.com

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