The Insanity of Black Friday

I saw on the news where folks were already camping out for some of the Black Friday sales – on Sunday, a solid five days before the sales start.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

These people are giving up hours and days of their lives, choosing to camp outside a store – many times in cold weather – all for the sake of saving money?  I’m no economist*, but it just doesn’t seem worth it.

*Seriously, I’m not.  In college, my major required me to take a basic Econ course.  I was so bad at it that I got to take it twice.  That is one of the many reasons I was lucky to marry a “numbers girl” who loves financial stuff. 

Without her, I’m likely retiring to the comfort of a cardboard box while trying to sell my kidneys on Craigslist.  There’s a reason this site isn’t FeitCanFixFinances, people.

You can find all sorts of calculations (both simple and complex) to determine what an hour of your time is worth.  A very simplistic (and therefore, easy for me to use) version can be found here, and goes like this:

1. Take your annual salary/wages.
2. Divide that number by 2000 (50 working weeks at 40 hours per week)
3. Divide that number in half (taxes, Social Security, etc)
4. The result is a rough estimate of what your time is worth per hour.

For somebody making $50,000 a year, an hour your time is worth approximately $12.50.  At $30,000 a year, it’s around $7.50.  A minimum wage worker’s time is worth $4.50 an hour.

So for those fools who are spending 100+ hours in line for Black Friday deals, you may be saving $400 on that new TV or computer, but you are almost definitely losing money overall (not to mention free time, a holiday with family, personal comfort and warmth, and likely your sanity) sitting outside Wal-Mart.

Good job!

Being Thankful for Perspective

A couple of weeks ago, I had a fun idea for a post.

Many of my Facebook friends have been doing the November “30 Days of Thankful” thing where they post a daily status of things they are thankful for.  That is very nice and sweet, so clearly I saw a good opportunity to do a snarky “30 Days of No Thanks” post where I come up with 30 things that I am not thankful for (example:  runny, stinky blowout poops from my three month old daughter)*.

*And let’s be honest here – I fully reserve the right to do that post next year.

But I have witnessed two things in the last ten days that have changed my mind and made me think that being a flippant smart ass about the numerous blessings in my life is not the way to go this year.

My 2 cents: Shopping on Thanksgiving

Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen and heard a lot of criticism aimed at retailers (like Kmart, Toys “R” Us,  and others) who will be open for business on Thanksgiving.  Many people find this horribly offensive and have taken Facebook pledges not to shop on Thanksgiving or to completely boycott stores that are open today.

Your heart is in the right place, even if you are full of crap.

I understand where they are coming from.  Thanksgiving is a holiday where families come together to express their love and appreciation for the blessings they have.  Few people want to miss out on that time together – especially to work a cash register for $8.75 an hour.  Having stores open on Thanksgiving is a textbook example of corporate greed trumping what the employees want.

But the pledges and boycotts are a bunch of hypocritical crap.  No matter how much we believe otherwise, people are going to have to work on Thanksgiving (and other holidays, for that matter).

Obviously, there are the people in jobs that are essential to a safe and civilized society:  police, fire, doctors, nurses, EMTs, snow plow drivers, and our military men and women serving our country.  I don’t see anybody pledging not to dial 911 today because we believe Gladys should be home with her family, so let’s raise a turkey leg in honor of those who simply must work today.

Beyond those core professions, there is another layer of workers in transportation jobs who will be clocking in today.  It’s probably not necessary to have airplanes flying, subways and taxis running, or even have somebody working at that gas station along the interstate – but let’s face it, it sure as hell makes our lives easier.  There are a lot of people who need to work so you can catch that flight back home, or even pay for your unleaded.  But nobody is proposing that we all stay home on Thanksgiving.

Let’s dig deeper.  You’ve pledged to not shop on Thanksgiving.  You vow that you will spend the day enjoying the company of family.  Good for you.  But…what is that in the background?  Is part of your family tradition to watch one of the multiple NFL games being played today?  Were you listening to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on while you were getting the turkey in the oven?

Now, we start to get into the true hypocrisy.  Where is the outrage over the people who have to work so we can have TV programming to watch?   Where is the protest for the reporters, cameramen, sound engineers, and on-air talent?  Or for the ushers, ticket takers, concession stand workers, and beer vendors at the football games?  Those folks have to work just as hard as the retail clerk at Wal-Mart, deal with the same amount of rude jerks, and will spend just as much time away from their families as the guy working retail.  But I guarantee that nobody will turn off the game or the parade because they “believe in family”.

I realize there are hundreds of other businesses and professions that I’ve omitted but the point is still the same:  where is the social media uproar?  Why do we care so much about people being pulled away from their families to work a crappy retail job, but not the crappy job parking cars at AT&T Stadium in Dallas or lugging sodas around Ford Field in Detroit?  Is it because some of us never had any desire to hit the stores on Thanksgiving anyway – or couldn’t go because you were stuck spending the day with your in-laws?  Nah, I’m sure that has nothing to do with it.

So if you wan to do some Christmas shopping or Black Friday bargain hunting today, be my guest.  I won’t judge.  Just remember who has your back this Christmas.

 

Reasons for Thanks – football edition

The Thanksgiving season is a time for reflection and for showing appreciation and gratitude for the people and things in your life

There are several things that I am very thankful for.  First and foremost on the list are my beautiful wife, amazing daughter, and the second daughter we will adopt in December or early January.  I am also thankful for my health, my freedom, my job, and for the opportunity to write about my beloved Huskers for the best Husker site on the interwebs.  I am thankful for countless other people and things in my life, but since this is a Husker-centric site, let me share some of the many Husker-related things I’m thankful for.

Thought of the Day – 11/21/11

Most of the nation’s companies are 95% focused on Christmas – even though it is still the middle of November.

That is why I love the Food Network.  Right now, they could give a crap about Christmas.  For them it is all Thanksgiving, all the time.  From dawn til dusk one of their culinary celebrities is brining, roasting, smoking, deep-frying, eating, or talking about turkey.  If not, then it is the secret ingredient for a cooking challenge or the inspiration for cupcakes, ginormous cakes, or some other crazy concoction.

And sure, Food Network’s focus is pretty elementary (Thanksgiving being the biggest food holiday of the year and all), but I am thankful that there is one place in the world that has not already moved on to Christmas – even if all of their ads are for Black Friday sales.