Black Friday is just around the corner. Just in case you are not familiar with the term, it is also known as the day after Thanksgiving.
The origin of Black Friday comes from the shift to profitability during the holiday season. Black Friday was when retailers went from being unprofitable, or "in the red," to being profitable, or "in the black", at a time when accounting records were kept by hand and red indicated loss and black profit.
For many though, the term has come to mean something quite different: Black Friday is the day when already holiday-weary shoppers brave the throngs of shoppers in an effort to find the best deals of the season. More than 100-million shoppers will bite, gouge, and claw their ways (figuratively speaking, of course!) through masses of humanity and merchandise to get an early jump on their holiday gift list.....and this is just the way many of these folks would have it!
If you are not an avid shopper, this may come as a surprise. Yes, I've known and have been related to quite a few men and women who thrive in such environments. But no matter where we are this Black Friday and throughout the entire holiday season, there is something we ought to think about: Exercising financial wisdom.
In her book "Debt Proof Living," consumer financial expert and personal finance coach, Mary Hunt, gives a list of debt trap warning signs:
- You are living on credit
- You pay your bills late
- You are not a giver
- You are not a saver
- You dream of getting rich quickly and living an extravagant lifestyle
- You worry about money
- You overspend your checking account
Where is the wisdom in loading up our credit cards in December and paying finance charges we cannot afford until the next holiday season rolls around? Overextending oneself financially takes a toll mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Financial crisis is always near the top of the list in causes of divorce.
Why not take care of the problem before it can even arise? Be wise this holiday season. Do not overextend yourself. Do not talk yourself into believing what many retailers want you to believe...namely that your family and friends will be disappointed if you do not lavish upon them expensive gifts.
There is much more that could be said about this. The Bible has much to say in regard to God's people exercising wisdom in finances. I will leave it at this:"The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender." (Proverbs 22:7, ESV).
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