Jack Tame: Black Friday meets the Reserve Bank - how do we spend less?

 

No, I haven’t bought a new air fryer.

Tempted as I might have been, I’ve resisted the urge to upgrade my TV.

So far, I’ve only bought two things in the Black Friday sales and I think even the most staunch anti-capitalists would have to agree, neither could be deemed particularly luxurious: a compost bin for my kitchen, and a shower squeegee.

Woo-hoo!

It’s one of those curious little quirks of 2022 that this year’s Black Friday should coincide perfectly with the Reserve Bank’s steepest-ever increase to the Official Cash Rate. At the same time as we’re being bombarded by ads for HUGE DISCOUNTS!, we’re being urged, albeit in a slightly more restrained fashion, to stop spending, and fast.

HUGE SALES! MASSIVE DISCOUNTS! UP TO 80% OFF!!

‘Cool your jets’ said Adrian Orr. Talk about mixed messaging.

Maybe the Reserve Bank needs to take on the big retailers at their own game.

I was at Infrastucture New Zealand’s Building Nations conference this week, and ANZ economist Sharon Zollner suggested to the audience the Reserve Bank should take our some billboards in prominent positions around the country.

‘Stop spending so much money or we’ll crank up your Mortgage even more!’

Sharon was joking and the audience laughed... but I dunno... I thought it was actually a bloody good idea! Maybe we need a bit of left-field thinking to help the inflation fight.

There’s a good chance it’s too late to do much about the spending over Black Friday weekend. We should turn our attention to what is usually an inevitable Christmas splurge.

With the big day less than a month away, my only advice is don’t give people crap for the sake of giving them crap.

In the Tame family, we made a pact a few years ago to run a Secret Santa for all the adults. $50 maximum.

We put names in a hat and randomly assign gifters and giftees. You only buy one gift and the idea is that you sit around and try to guess who bought yours.

You can be a bit creative. I think last year I had gave my Dad a t-shirt with a photo of the family dog. Hardly a life-changing gift but not nothing!

It’s fun. It takes a good chunk of the expense out of Christmas, and it ultimately means you’re not ending up with heaps of stuff you don’t want, or spending for the sake of spending.

Who knows, what’s good for inflation might ultimately be good for your Christmas, too!

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