Black Friday, Bankruptcy and Thanksgiving

Bankruptcy and Thanksgiving?  Black Friday and Thanksgiving?    Bankruptcy and Black Friday?    Bankruptcy connected with thankfulness?  None of these terms should be connected to each other in any way.   But in our “easy cash, easy purchase” society, the terms are connected as folks who overspend then turn to bankruptcy to solve the problem.  Bankruptcy is not a solution to Black Friday.  Thanksgiving should not be a marketing tool for retailers.   Thanksgiving should not ever result in the possibility of a bankruptcy.

Each year, on the third Thursday in November, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving Day.   Most the traditions revolving around Thanksgiving are based on faulty history accounts but for many  years, Americans have taken the day to celebrate with their families and to enjoy a meal together.       The day after Thanksgiving, Friday, has been called “Black Friday“, and most retailers have used that day to mark the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, followed closely by “Cyber Monday“, when electronic online retailers begin their sales for Christmas season.     In the past few years, stores have opened earlier and earlier, with shoppers lining up at 7 a.m., then 6 a.m. the next  year, then 5 a.m.   The stores want  your money, whether in actual cash or through the use of credit cards.

In 2012, stores are opening on Thanksgiving with the “Black Friday” sales actually starting on Thanksgiving Day itself.    Commercials blare from the television about the steep discounts available to the early bird shoppers and the ease of purchase when placing on a credit card.    One major credit card company has now created a new tradition:   Small Business Saturday – rewarding cardholders who use their card on Saturday with a $25 credit on the next month’s billing statement.   Credit card checks arrive in the mail, offering zero interest or a  lower interest rate, if cardholders charge before the holiday and pay off within a certain period of time.   The temptation to overspend is being broadcase in every imaginable way to Americans using the holiday as a tool to entice cardholders.  And, as our economy continues to plummet, it becomes easier and easier for folks to think that overspending can be solved by filing bankruptcy.  While bankruptcy is a solution to financial distress, the consequences of a bankruptcy filing  (impaired credit) last far longer than the thrill of purchasing a “doorbuster” special.  Bankruptcy should be a last resort, not a solution for materialistic overspending.

A number of bankruptcy attorneys have tackled this issue of financial distress, bankruptcy and the national holiday.   My colleague Rachel Foley, Missouri bankruptcy attorney,  warned folks in an earlier post about not giving into temptation.  My colleague Jay Fleischman, a New York/California bankruptcy attorney, also provided stress reduction techniques to reduce financial stress.   Cathy Moran, California attorney, authored an article regarding being thankful for humane bankruptcy laws.    Three bankruptcy attorneys with different approaches: warnings, assistance, thankfulness.

As for myself, I am saddened by the retailers urge to spend, spend, spend that surrounds Americans today.   It might be pure selfishness on my part – -that of three adult children visiting my home, two of them have gone off to early bird sales this evening with no plans to be back before midnight.    I am amazed at the willingness of retailers to open earlier and earlier in order to grab the cash from consumers before the next retailer can grab that cash.   If the early “Black Friday” sales are successful, what will happen next year?  It might be that the “Black Friday” sales will start the last Friday in October….