0:00

Hey guys , welcome back to the Penny's Plans podcast

0:02

with your host , kia , and this is the podcast . We're

0:04

into the Spongebob myths , simplified difficult financial

0:06

jargon and rectify your own personal problems

0:08

. Happy Monday everyone . I hope

0:10

you've had an amazing weekend

0:13

. I have actually had

0:15

some Monday blues . I don't really get you

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know when people say , oh my gosh , it's Monday again . I've never really

0:19

had that . I've just said like , oh , we're back into the

0:21

working week , but today it's been

0:23

, it's been a day , it's been a day , but I'm always

0:26

happy and excited when it comes to

0:28

recording this podcast . As

0:30

we all know , the sales

0:32

are up coming . This is Black Friday

0:34

and Cyber Monday , literally around the corner

0:36

. So this episode is dedicated to

0:39

those two events , if you

0:41

are a shopper , and they're dedicated to getting

0:43

you the best deals and making sure that you are saving

0:45

money , because that is the key thing

0:47

when it comes to the Penny's Plans podcast

0:50

and the whole platform in general all about

0:52

helping you to save money and make the most of your money

0:54

when it comes to investing credit , everything

0:56

in between . That's all we're here to do . So I want to make

0:58

sure that you are in good stead for

1:01

these deals Now , when it comes to

1:03

Black Friday and Cyber Monday . I'm going to be

1:05

honest , I'm not really a shopper . I'm

1:08

not really someone who will go into

1:10

those deals and say , yeah , I'm going to buy . I'm not really

1:12

that person . I'm going to make sure that you guys

1:14

are set up and I might shop this year

1:16

. So these are some tips for me , but I'm

1:19

going to give you 10 tips that

1:21

you need to make sure you're implementing this Black

1:23

Friday . Now , without further ado , let's get straight into it . Number

1:25

one , and probably the one you need to start with , is

1:27

to make sure that you have a shopping list . Now , I

1:29

say this because you might veer

1:32

off track . I have had so

1:34

many emails already about early

1:36

Black Friday deals , this , that

1:38

and the third . And if you don't have a shopping list , you

1:40

will fall into the trap of buying any

1:42

and everything just because it's there . You're like , oh , it's

1:44

shiny and new . Oh , I might want to get that if you

1:46

have a shopping list . So if there's things you want to get for

1:48

yourself maybe you really wanted

1:50

this item , these new pair of headphones , these

1:52

new trainers and they've been on your list for a

1:54

minute If you have that list , you are

1:57

really focused in on what you want to get

1:59

. Obviously , christmas around the corner you

2:01

may also have a list of presents that you want to get

2:03

. So make sure you have that list . You're not distracted

2:05

and tempted by other deals . You're just going

2:07

in and going for what you

2:09

want to buy . Number two

2:12

, very key set a

2:14

budget , please . I love a good

2:16

deal , but what I don't love is

2:18

going over and above and spending way more money

2:21

than I need to . So have a budget in

2:23

mind for whatever you want to get . So , when you have your list

2:25

figure out right , I want to spend no

2:27

more than 100 pounds , 200 , 500

2:29

, whatever your budget is . Have that in

2:31

mind so you're not going to go crazy , because

2:33

, trust me , it is easy and it's

2:36

tempting , but you don't want to do this . Number

2:38

three this is my key

2:40

one . Okay , this is if you remember no

2:42

other tip from this episode , this is

2:45

the one I want to resonate you with is

2:47

compare prices . Now

2:50

, I've mentioned this before on the podcast , but a lot of people don't

2:52

realize that retailers are

2:54

very , very tricky . They're

2:56

very , they're cunning . I think that's the better

2:59

word . They're cunning . What you will

3:01

find is some retailers will have a product

3:03

. Let's just pick a random product , I don't

3:05

know . I'm going to pick some airport maxes

3:07

. Right , I'm looking at mine . Let's just

3:09

take airport maxes . You'll see

3:11

some retailers and you'll think , right , I'm going to go for a good deal

3:14

on the airport maxes . What they will

3:16

do is they will hike up the price

3:18

of those airport maxes

3:20

, for example , before Black Friday . Let's

3:22

just say , obviously , apple retail them for 550

3:25

pounds . Let's just say you look at someone like Amazon

3:27

, for example , and they retail them at 479

3:30

. What Amazon may do is

3:32

hike them up to 530

3:35

pounds or 550 before Black

3:37

Friday , and then Black Friday comes and

3:39

they bring it right down to 479 . You're like , oh

3:41

my gosh , airport maxes 479

3:44

, water bargain . But if

3:46

you had compared the prices you

3:48

would have known Huh , actually

3:51

that's not really a saving there

3:53

. That is actually the original price prior

3:55

to Black Friday . So if I were you from

3:57

today or tomorrow , so Monday or Tuesday

4:00

before Black Friday , saturday , monday you want to make

4:02

sure that you're noting down the price of whatever

4:04

you're going for . Have a look across

4:06

all the websites online as well , to

4:09

get a good understanding of how much their item

4:11

or items you're looking to buy or retailing for

4:13

, just so you know . But you need to make

4:15

sure you're on top of that , because these retailers

4:17

, they will try their best . They will try their best

4:19

and hike up prices before and then bring it down

4:22

. So it's down to you to make sure you're comparing your

4:24

prices . Google Shopping is a

4:26

tool I always like to use because it

4:28

makes it so easy to compare prices across all

4:30

the retailers . I just think it's just a good layout

4:32

and you just have it right there . But make

4:34

sure you have your notes page on your phone

4:36

or you have a note pad and paper to

4:39

write down these prices so you know what you're looking

4:41

at . Number four will be to

4:43

subscribe to alerts . So

4:45

, wherever you want to shop if you have favorite retailers

4:48

in mind I don't know Adidas , nike , anything

4:50

in particular that you really want to shop at sign

4:52

up to the alerts because , a it's

4:54

gonna let you know when their Black Friday deals start

4:57

. Some retailers have really started . Some

4:59

will be starting on Black Friday , but

5:01

you'll get the first notification when they start

5:03

and B you'll

5:05

be able to keep track

5:08

of what deals are going on when

5:10

. So this is what you need to

5:12

make sure that you're getting those deals . And

5:14

time of the previous point about tracking

5:16

prices . So not only are we gonna compare prices

5:18

across different retailers , but you wanna

5:20

track historical prices . So

5:23

if you're looking for Amazon

5:25

, in particular , camel

5:28

, camel , camel , so the animal

5:30

Camel times three that

5:32

has a website where you can track the price of

5:34

any item on Amazon and it will

5:36

show you the historic price and

5:38

what it was yesterday , what it was a month ago , what it was

5:40

three years ago . You can see the price of any

5:42

item that you're looking for . You can also sign up

5:45

within Camel , camel Camel to get alerted

5:47

when it drops down to a certain price

5:49

you can pick a price or when it's discounted

5:51

to 10% , 15%

5:53

whatever you want to pick , you're able to

5:55

get alerts straight to your inbox

5:58

. I'll give you a little story about I

6:00

think I was in sixth form and I'd

6:02

gotten my first or second job so I'd get

6:04

a good paycheck right my first time I've ever

6:06

seen like 800 pounds on my account on like

6:08

17 . And I decided

6:10

to treat myself to some headphones and my dad had told me

6:12

about Camel , camel , camel when I was 17 . And

6:15

I was like , okay , I'm gonna get these headphones and

6:17

they were on sale at the time . But

6:19

I said I'm gonna have a look and see the previous

6:21

prices that it has been and I'd

6:24

seen that it was like 50 pounds cheaper

6:26

about three months prior and I was like

6:28

I'm going to wait and I'm gonna get it at

6:30

that price or lower so you can set

6:32

within Camel , camel , camel . When I said it and I said , let

6:34

me know when it's either 50 pounds cheaper

6:37

than this price or less than that

6:39

. And it took a couple of months but

6:41

I finally got that email that one day I had my money

6:43

set aside for these headphones and I got that email

6:45

saying Kia , the headphones have

6:48

dropped down by 60 pounds and I bought them

6:50

straight away . So Black Friday

6:52

, anything you're looking to get , this is , in particular

6:54

, for Amazon Camel , camel

6:56

, camel is your best friend . There are other price tracking

6:58

tools that you can have a look online , that you

7:00

can track across all websites , but if

7:02

you're looking for Amazon in particular , camel , camel

7:05

, camel is your way to go . Next

7:08

one if you're not new to pennies , pounds

7:10

, you know we always talk about cash back . Please

7:12

, please , please , make

7:14

sure that you're making use of cash back

7:17

sites . To give you a quick reminder

7:19

if you are unsure of what cash back is cash

7:21

back is when you get cash back

7:23

on your purchases . Typically

7:26

, when we think about cash back , you think about cash back credit

7:28

cards , so the things like AmEx where

7:30

, when you spend , you may get points back

7:32

in a form of travel

7:34

points or obvious points or money

7:36

back into your credit card . But

7:38

there are also websites like TopCashBack and

7:41

Quidco that allow you to get money back

7:43

on any purchases that you make online

7:45

and that can be withdrawn straight into your bank account or

7:47

your PayPal account . This is my favorite thing

7:49

to do . Even when shopping the deals

7:52

make sure you're using cash back sites . The

7:55

only caveat of cash back sites is that you need to make

7:57

sure that you click through on a cash back site

7:59

before you shop . So you need to

8:01

remember if I'm gonna shop on New Look

8:03

, for example , I need to go to TopCashBack

8:05

or Quidco , first , search

8:08

up New Look within the website and then click

8:10

through to New Look through Quidco

8:12

or TopCashBack . The reason being is

8:14

these websites use things called cookies

8:16

and that's how we track where you've gone and what you've

8:18

done on that website . So you need to basically

8:21

allow Quidco or TopCashBack to track the cookie

8:23

between their website and you

8:25

go into New Look so they can see oh right , you spent I

8:28

don't know , 25 pounds at New Look , so you're gonna get X

8:30

amount of cash back into your account

8:32

. But this is what I do all the time . I

8:35

also forget how much I've made or

8:37

gotten back . I should say , through Quidco

8:40

or TopCashBack , I think . When I checked Quidco the other day , over

8:42

my whole lifetime of having it and I've been using it properly

8:45

for the last three and a half four years I

8:47

think I've made or gotten back

8:49

, I should say , into my account , 1,971

8:52

pounds , because I use it for pretty much the

8:55

majority of my purchases . So whether I make big

8:57

purchases , like I'm buying a laptop , I

8:59

use the waitress , my cash back sites

9:01

, or smaller ones , even

9:03

for flights , hotels , everything

9:05

. Whatever I'm booking , I will check there first and

9:08

if I can get cash back , I'm getting that

9:10

back and that £1,900

9:12

has been withdrawn into my accounts

9:14

. Obviously , it's not only one go . I take it in bits . I'll be 100

9:16

here , 50 there but I've taken that

9:18

back into my account and I've been able to spend it on other things

9:21

. So before you shop this Black Friday

9:23

, make sure you are signed up

9:25

to a cashback site and make sure you are searching

9:27

on that cashback site to get your money . If

9:30

you are someone who thinks I'm going to forget I'm

9:32

honestly going to forget to go on cashback

9:35

sites before I shop if you're using

9:37

the Chrome browser and I'm not sure about

9:39

anything else , but definitely for Chrome they

9:41

have an extension . So there's a top cashback reminder

9:43

extension and a Qwidco extension

9:46

which reminds you on any website

9:48

that you're on that's eligible for cashback . It will say

9:50

click here to activate , and that is it . You don't

9:52

have to worry about trying to go on the website first . You

9:55

click on the button and it will activate it for you

9:57

and you're earning your cashback as long as you go

9:59

through and purchase on the website that you're

10:01

on . Any links , by the way , that I mentioned

10:03

here will be in the episode description , so don't

10:05

worry if you've missed what I've said . You can

10:07

just click through on the episode description to make your life

10:09

a lot easier , and we also got it on our website

10:12

too . But cashback , cashback , cashback

10:14

all the way . Next one

10:16

is to make sure that you're looking at

10:18

websites where they have flash sales . When

10:21

I say this , I'm talking about things like Groupon

10:23

, voucher codes , voucher

10:26

those places which can have a flash sales on

10:28

absolutely anything . Now , I love a good Groupon

10:30

good voucher when I'm looking for deals for

10:33

travel or retreats . If you're looking

10:35

for a spa time , if you're looking for travel

10:37

abroad , those two are usually

10:40

my go to . But what you'll find

10:42

is that these platforms often offer

10:44

limited time discounts and vouchers

10:47

on a variety of different websites

10:49

, different items . So

10:51

it's a good way to make sure that you get in the best

10:53

deals or whatever you're purchasing , and maybe

10:55

even just get some things that aren't always advertised

10:58

, especially for voucher codes . Voucher

11:00

codes if you've never visited it before , it

11:02

is like the holy grail for

11:04

online discounts . When you're shopping

11:07

, you need to go on there and make

11:09

sure that any website you're looking to purchase

11:11

from , if there's a voucher to be had

11:13

, voucher codes will have it on their website

11:15

and anything flash , anything that's really quick

11:17

voucher codes is more like to have it than you

11:19

getting it , for example , into your email box , so you

11:21

might miss it by that time . So make sure

11:23

you look at the websites before you shop

11:25

so you don't miss out on anything . Another

11:28

one I think is almost overlooked a little bit

11:31

is to follow the brands that you want

11:33

to shop from on social media

11:35

, even if it's just for that short period of time

11:37

because I think , if you're someone

11:39

who perhaps can sometimes fall into

11:41

impulse purchasing , following these retailers

11:43

online isn't advantageous . However

11:46

, however , if you're looking to

11:48

get the best deals this Black Friday

11:50

, what you'll find is often the social

11:52

media managers are tasked with posting

11:55

up quick deals , quick discounts

11:57

, on the Instagram stories or put out

11:59

tweets , and I know this because

12:01

I have consulted with many brands

12:03

on their social media and I have been in

12:06

charge of helping that happen . So I know that

12:08

that is where it happens . It'll be like oh

12:10

, anyone who follows on the Instagram will get the quick little discount

12:12

. If you don't follow them , you'll miss that discount code

12:14

. So make sure you're following any brands you want to shop from

12:16

can be big , it can be small . Follow

12:19

them on Instagram because you'll likely get

12:21

first dibs and perhaps even just

12:23

exclusive discount codes that you wouldn't

12:25

get anywhere else , just on the website . So

12:27

definitely follow anyone that you want to purchase

12:29

from on social media and , like I said , if you're

12:32

someone who can fall into impulse purchasing , hit

12:34

on follow after Cyber Monday

12:36

. Next one is

12:39

leading to what I just said is

12:41

to hold out till Cyber Monday . So

12:43

Black Friday is always the one that we push a

12:45

lot . Everyone talks about Black Friday , black

12:47

Friday sales , black Friday discounts , but Cyber

12:50

Monday is also another good

12:52

time to get some discounts . So if

12:54

you're looking to buy any tech items

12:56

, for example , or just anything

12:58

in general , it might be worthwhile holding out

13:00

until Cyber Monday . Places like

13:02

Tech Raider or Hot UK Deals one of my favorite

13:04

websites ever are good places to check

13:06

and see what's upcoming , what's been

13:09

released and what deals and discounts you

13:11

can get Hot UK Deals . If

13:13

you haven't been on there already that

13:15

place my dad showed me it . It is so

13:17

good . I have been able to get deals

13:19

on things that I have never

13:22

seen other than on Hot UK Deals

13:24

. I remember I got . What did I get

13:26

? I got Spotify , the premium subscription

13:28

. I managed to get that for like 99p

13:31

for six months , and that was just because someone

13:33

in Hot UK Deals it's almost like a forum where people can submit

13:36

deals that they've come across , put it

13:38

on there limited time only were

13:40

able to get that deal and save my

13:42

money that way . Hot UK Deals is

13:44

a great place to have a look , especially during

13:46

this time , to make sure you

13:48

get all the deals and discounts that you need to

13:50

be getting . Next

13:53

one is we love shopping

13:55

new . We do you want to purchase is new

13:57

, this is new , that but maybe during this time , also

14:00

consider shopping secondhand

14:03

. We're

14:05

coming up to the festive season and

14:07

buying new is great , but if you're

14:09

looking to buy , especially things like clothing and

14:12

you know you're not going to wear it that many times , or you

14:14

know , you know what I could actually just buy it pre-loved

14:16

in secondhand . Have a look and

14:18

do so . I have made the shift , especially

14:21

this summer . I was traveling a lot , I was

14:23

going to a lot of different places and initially

14:25

in the beginning of the year , I was shopping everything brand

14:27

new . I'm online , buying this , buying that

14:29

, buying it all brand new , and you spend a lot of money doing that . Then

14:32

it got to summertime and I was like you know what ? I'm

14:34

going to have a look on Deep Pop and eBay and

14:37

see what I can find . More often

14:39

than not , you'll find people who have items that

14:41

are even never worn or only worn once

14:43

and are in amazing condition , and

14:45

they get it for a fraction of the price . I've got some

14:48

amazing outfits that I bought pre-loved

14:50

, secondhand , got a good discount on , and

14:53

sometimes you can bargain people down . I

14:55

know that myself . I've got a Deep Pop . People bargain

14:57

me down . I'm like , yeah , go on , and you can up for that price . So

14:59

consider shopping secondhand

15:02

, because there are also still deals and discounts on there . People

15:04

still run deals because it's Black Friday . Just

15:07

because it's secondhand doesn't mean

15:09

that you can't get a good deal on

15:11

your items . And

15:13

then , lastly this is more of just something

15:16

to consider is what

15:19

I've touched on a bit earlier in the episode is

15:21

to be weary of impulse

15:23

purchases . You

15:25

want to make sure that whatever you're purchasing

15:27

is something that you actually want and

15:29

not just because you've seen it's

15:32

on sale and you think this is great

15:34

, I want to just buy something . Impulse

15:36

purchasing is often

15:39

done just so you can feel that hit or dope

15:41

on me , because when we add things to our basket , we

15:44

get this rush of dopamine , which is what

15:46

makes you feel happy . So people

15:48

do that and say , yes , I really want this . And when the item comes

15:51

, they're like , ah , I didn't actually

15:53

want that . So you want to make sure that

15:55

whatever you're buying is

15:57

actually things that you

15:59

want to buy and not just for the sake of it , not

16:01

just so you can get

16:03

that hit of dopamine . It's actually things that you really

16:06

want . You can also visit this website called

16:08

Retail Me Not , which

16:10

will show you all the places right now that

16:13

have Black Friday discounts . It will

16:15

also show you places that you can get cashback . It's

16:17

just a great place to have a look at . They also

16:19

have a deal finder extension

16:21

on the Chrome browser which

16:23

automatically applies discount codes for you , allows

16:26

you to earn cashback whenever you're shopping online

16:28

. Honorary mentions at the end

16:30

of this is to make sure you've got things

16:32

like Honey and Pouch

16:34

installed on your browser . I

16:37

believe you can get them on Firefox . You can

16:39

definitely get them on Chrome . If

16:41

you use any of your browser , you have to have a look . Definitely

16:43

not on Safari , but Chrome and potentially Firefox

16:45

. You can get these add-ons . All

16:47

they do is just add onto your browser . So

16:49

I have Honey installed , I have Pouch

16:51

, I have Karma . Karma

16:54

is a really good one . So when I was mentioning earlier

16:56

about tracking the prices of

16:58

items and I mentioned Camel , camel , camel

17:00

is specifically for Amazon items

17:02

, but it's great to see historical data on the prices

17:05

and be able to track the future prices of items

17:07

. Karma allows you to pick

17:10

any product from

17:12

any website and track

17:14

it and Karma will let you know and

17:16

give you an alert through your web browser

17:18

, so through Chrome , when there's discount

17:21

code to be had , when there's a price

17:23

drop , so you can make sure that you're shopping with

17:25

confidence and getting the best price . So Karma

17:28

K-A-R-M-A is

17:30

another one to add to your browser , but these

17:32

are just all good add-ons to

17:34

have to ensure that you're getting the best

17:36

deals possible when it comes to Black

17:38

Friday . Hopefully some of

17:40

these tips have resonated with you . I

17:42

want to make sure that you're getting the best deals

17:45

. Also , if you're looking to travel abroad

17:47

in the new year , then travel

17:49

Tuesday may be the thing that you want to keep

17:51

an eye on . Travel Tuesday this year

17:53

falls on the 28th of November

17:55

, which is a Tuesday , as I mentioned and

17:58

this is known where

18:00

you typically should be able to

18:03

get really good prices and

18:05

hopefully discounts on traveling abroad

18:07

. That includes your airline ticket

18:09

, accommodation , train

18:12

tickets , on a variety

18:14

of different things . They also fall in Black

18:16

Friday . I feel like Black Friday . We always talk about items

18:18

, but you can also get good discounts and deals

18:21

on flights and trips . So if you're

18:23

planning for the new year and you want to get a nice discount

18:25

to see the world and travel abroad , but not break the bank

18:28

. Then Black Friday and

18:30

travel Tuesday are probably two days that

18:32

I'd say . Make sure you're having a look , but again , as

18:34

I mentioned , track the prices

18:36

. If you want to go somewhere in particular and you want to get

18:38

a package deal , see what it is right

18:41

now . Then , on Black Friday , compare

18:43

the price , see has it actually gone down

18:45

or is it the same price I'm actually getting

18:47

a discount and then make sure

18:49

you're looking on travel Tuesday as well to get the

18:51

best prices when it comes to traveling online

18:53

. There you have it , guys . Another

18:55

quick but informative , bite-sized

18:58

episode from us here at Penny's Pounds

19:00

. I hope you have enjoyed this one . If

19:02

you are around and available , please . We

19:04

are having a last in-person event

19:06

on the 14th of December

19:09

2023 . It's a Thursday from

19:11

6.30 to 9.00 PM in a

19:13

Samsung King's Cross building . The link

19:15

to purchase tickets will be in our bio . Early

19:17

Bird is officially sold out . Completely

19:19

Super duper excited . It's going to be really fun

19:22

now . We're so much planned , so many great panels

19:24

on the night . It's going to be a really fun time

19:27

11 days before Christmas . So if you're available

19:29

and you live in London , please do come through . I love

19:31

meeting you guys all in person , but

19:33

yes , until next week , guys , bye .