HOLIDAY MONEY PLAN
Black Friday Budget: How Much to Spend and How to Plan It (2026)
Black Friday 2026 is Friday, November 27. Last year Americans spent $11.8 billion online on Black Friday alone and $14.25 billion on Cyber Monday, over $1 billion of it on buy now, pay later. A budget set now, from a list and from cash you can actually set aside, is what keeps the deals from becoming January debt. Plan yours with the calculator below.
CALENDAR
Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026 dates
| Date | Day | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Earlyβmid November | "Early Black Friday" | Many retailers start deals weeks ahead; prices are often the same as on the day itself |
| Thu, Nov 26, 2026 | Thanksgiving | Online sales start; many stores closed |
| Fri, Nov 27, 2026 | Black Friday | The busiest shopping day in stores and online |
| Sat, Nov 28, 2026 | Small Business Saturday | Local and independent shops |
| Mon, Nov 30, 2026 | Cyber Monday | The largest online spending day of the year in 2025 |
That gives you about seven weeks from early October: enough to make a list, set money aside from five or six paychecks, and watch prices on the few things you actually plan to buy.
THE NUMBERS
How much do people spend on Black Friday?
$11.8B
Up 9.1% on 2024 (Adobe).
$14.25B
Over $1 billion of it paid with buy now, pay later (Adobe).
202.9M
A record, Thursday through Cyber Monday (NRF).
$890
Planned for gifts, food and decorations in 2025, about $628 of it on gifts (NRF).
Deloitte's 2025 holiday survey put the average planned holiday budget higher, at $1,595 per shopper, down 10% from 2024 as households cut back. Both figures cover the whole season, not just one weekend β but much of that gift spending lands in the Black Friday to Cyber Monday window. Use them as context, not as a target.
STEP BY STEP
How to set a Black Friday budget in 5 steps
Start from your whole holiday budget
Black Friday is part of the season, not extra money. Decide what you can spend on gifts, food, travel and decorations in total, then decide how much of it belongs to the sale weekend. Our guide to how much to spend on Christmas gifts has per-person ranges.
Write the list before you see the deals
Gifts by person, plus planned purchases you would make anyway (a laptop that is dying, a winter coat). Anything that only appears on the list after you saw an ad is a "want" and goes in a separate, capped line.
Price the list at the sale price you expect
Check the current price and the lowest price of the last few months. Budget at a realistic sale price, not the best one you hope for.
Set the cash aside by November 27
Divide what you still need by the paychecks or weeks left. Keeping it in a separate savings account or a holiday sinking fund means the weekend runs on cash, not on a card balance. See sinking funds with examples.
Set two rules for the weekend
One: if it is not on the list, it comes out of the "wants" cap or not at all. Two: no new debt β skip buy now, pay later and store cards unless the balance will be paid in full when due.
YOUR LIST
Black Friday budget planner
TRY IT
Does your list fit your budget?
List what you plan to buy, the regular price and the sale price you expect. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.
CHECK THE DEAL
How to tell a real Black Friday deal from a fake one
A "40% off" tag compares the sale price with a list or "was" price that the item may rarely have sold at. The useful comparison is with what it actually cost recently.
Real discount = 1 β sale price Γ· lowest price in the last 90 days
A $399 TV tagged "was $599" looks like 33% off. If it sold for $429 in September, the real discount is 7%, or $30. If the lowest recent price was $399, there is no deal at all.
Planned, price-tracked items
Electronics, small appliances, toys and gifts already on your list, where you know the normal price and the sale price is clearly lower.
Unplanned "doorbusters"
Items you were not going to buy, bundles that add things you don't need, and anything paid with interest-bearing credit that wipes out the discount.
KEEP SCORE
Planning Black Friday in Excel or Google Sheets
A shopping-list sheet with columns for Person, Item, Type (Need / Gift / Want), Regular, Lowest 90-day, Sale and Bought turns the planner above into something you can use all season:
| Question | Formula |
|---|---|
| Planned total | =SUM(List[Sale]) |
| Wants subtotal | =SUMIFS(List[Sale],List[Type],"Want") |
| Real discount per item | =1-[@Sale]/[@[Lowest 90-day]] |
| Spent so far | =SUMIFS(List[Sale],List[Bought],TRUE) |
| Weekly saving needed | =MAX(0,(Budget-Saved)/ROUNDUP((DATE(2026,11,27)-TODAY())/7,0)) |
After the weekend, the same sheet shows what you actually spent against the plan β useful input for your 2027 yearly budget.
READY-MADE TEMPLATE
Plan the whole season in one file
You can build the list above yourself. If you'd rather have gift lists, a holiday budget and a transaction tracker already set up, there is a ready-made Christmas planner for Excel and Google Sheets; check the product page for current features.
Christmas Planner Spreadsheet for Google Sheets & Excel
The current listing describes a planning sheet for budget, recipients, shops and categories, a full gift list with budget, store, status and notes, a dynamic transaction tracker, a complete budget overview, and gift, task and prep dashboards.
- Gift list by person with budget and status
- Holiday budget overview
- Transaction tracker for what you bought
Product features and compatibility are listed on the product page and may change. Saving for it month by month? The Sinking Funds Tracker handles holiday and other planned expenses.
Browse personal finance templatesFAQ
Black Friday budget questions
When is Black Friday 2026?
Friday, November 27, 2026, the day after Thanksgiving (November 26). Small Business Saturday is November 28 and Cyber Monday is November 30.
How much should I spend on Black Friday?
Only what is on your list and already set aside in cash. Start from your total holiday budget, decide the share that belongs to the sale weekend, and price your list at realistic sale prices. Surveys put total holiday spending at roughly $890 (NRF) to $1,595 (Deloitte) per person in 2025, but those are averages, not targets.
How much did people spend on Black Friday 2025?
Adobe reported $11.8 billion of US online spending on Black Friday 2025, up 9.1%, and $14.25 billion on Cyber Monday. The NRF counted a record 202.9 million shoppers over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Is Black Friday or Cyber Monday better for deals?
For most categories prices are similar across the weekend, and many deals start earlier in November. Compare each item with its lowest recent price rather than waiting for a specific day.
Should I use buy now, pay later on Black Friday?
Only if you can pay every installment from money you already have. It does not lower the price, and several plans at once can stack up against January bills. Over $1 billion of Cyber Monday 2025 spending used it, according to Adobe.
How do I avoid overspending on Black Friday?
Write the list before you see the deals, keep "wants" in a separate capped line, pay with cash you set aside rather than new credit, and check each discount against the item's lowest price in the last 90 days.
Sources and further reading
- Adobe: Cyber Monday hits record $14.25 billion (December 2025)
- NRF: Thanksgiving holiday weekend draws a record 203 million shoppers
- NRF: Winter holiday data and trends
- Deloitte: 2025 holiday retail survey
Checked October 6, 2026. 2026 holiday forecasts are usually published in OctoberβNovember; this article will be updated with them. General information, not financial advice.
