Black Friday is a week away, but that has done little to deter retailers across the US. To jumpstart sales during a down year and to reach home-bound American consumers, stores began rolling out deals weeks ago. But, the closer we get to Black Friday, the more enticing the sales become. In a year during which many physicians are struggling financially, this year’s Black Friday sales represent a cost-savings opportunity. If you’re well organized, you can knock out your holiday shopping with one blow and save some cash in the process. In the personal finance realm, PhysicianSense tends to advocate for frugality. If you’re going to treat yourself, treat yourself wisely. There are certain research-backed purchases that have measurable effects on your wellbeing and productivity. To be featured among this year’s roundup of Black Friday deals for physicians, these goods had to enhance your ability to practice, create efficiency in your private life, or enhance work-life balance. Disclosure: The following post includes purchase recommendations and uses affiliate links to Amazon products, allowing us to receive commission for purchases. These suggestions are our own. Early deals For those who like to get their shopping done early, here’s what you can scoop up at a discount right now. AncestryHealth: Genetic Ethnicity + Traits + Health $179 $119 Lay to rest any family debate about where your people actually hail from with AncestryHealth’s Genetic Ethnicity + Traits + Health diagnostic. In the process, you can glean important insights about your health. This Ancestry product provides a genetic health risk report, which will tell you if you’re at a higher risk for diseases such as breast cancer, colon cancer, and heart disease. It will also connect you to genetic counseling services. In addition to this higher-end features, you’ll get the popular Ancestry feature suite, which includes an ethnicity estimate, DNA matches, historical timeline, traits influenced by your genes, and ancestral movements. Board games Up to 40% off Holiday gifts (for yourself and others) don’t have to be high tech. That’s where these discounted board games come in. The data on new COVID-19 cases seem to indicate that we’re all going to be spending a lot of time indoors with our families this winter. Here’s an idea: Stock up on a few of these games, and once a week, take a tech time out, round up the family, and duke it out over one of these games. Supplements Up to 20% off ‘Tis the season for boosting immunity. A recent study showed worse morbidity outcomes for senior COVID-19 patients who were Vitamin D deficient. Perhaps pick up some discounted Vitamin D for everyone on your holiday shopping list. You can also find an Omega 3-6-9 complex and B-complex. Apple Watch SE 44mm $309 $259.99 Maybe a smartwatch will inspire you, or someone you love, to take better care of themselves. The Apple Watch SE 44mm features workout tracking, including running, walking, cycling, yoga, swimming, and dance. Concerned about cardiovascular health? The SE alerts you to high and low heart rate, as well as arrhythmia. Plus, you’ll get the time-saving features of call and text forwarding to your watch. Keep your practice organized while on the go with more seamless communication. Shark IQ Robot Vacuum R100 $394 $199 The Shark IQ is a pure timesaver. Maybe you’re a resident and you can’t afford a housekeeper. Or maybe you prefer a DIY cleaning. This wifi-enabled robot vacuum will keep the dust bunnies, and your allergies, at bay. If you have pets, the self-cleaning brush will keep hair and fur jams to a minimum. Its home-mapping function will even allow you to select which rooms you want vacuumed, if you don’t want to do the whole house. Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14” $449.99 $379.99 Got enough time to prepare breakfast while your old laptop boots up? Time for an upgrade. The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is a serviceable solution at a good price. With 8 GB of ram and 256 GB of storage, it’s got enough processing power and memory to be an everyday workhorse. The sound card isn’t bad either, and you can enjoy your tunes through bluetooth enabled devices. And at the price point, you won’t feel so badly about upgrading when it slows to a crawl. Amazon Echo Dot (Gen 3) $39.99 $29.99 If time-saving convenience is what you’re after, having a single hub to manage many of your internet-connected devices will help. The Amazon Echo Dot is a sound option. Tell it to play your preferred radio station, arm your home security system, switch on lights in individual rooms, or adjust the temperature on your smart thermostat. With a little programming, this hub can handle these functions, and more. Casper mattress king bundle $1,800 $1,260 Better sleep is sure to make you a better doctor. There are few factors that have as great of an impact on physical and mental performance than sleep. Furthermore, there’s increasing evidence that a lack of deep sleep may contribute to buildup of beta amyloid plaque in the brain, a hallmark pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. If you’re still sleeping on the same broken-down mattress from your residency days, it’s time to upgrade. Go with Casper’s king bundle in either all foam or hybrid, depending on your support needs. Casper gives you 100 nights to try your new mattress. Quip toothbrush bundles Save 15% or more Oral health is important too, doc. When was the last time you replaced your toothbrush? Take the guesswork out of it with Quip. Buy one of their sleek, battery-operated brushes and sign up for a subscription and they’ll send you a new brush head and battery quarterly. There are bundles that include floss and toothpaste, as well as kid-sized options. Deals to watch Good things come to those who wait, and the same may be true of Black Friday deals. Using last year as a comparison, many of the best deals, including discounted phones, computers, and wearables, didn’t kick off until on or just before Black Friday. Amazon Amazon will kick off its Black Friday deals in earnest on Friday, Nov. 20. Standout deals include: The Ring Video Doorbell 3 and Echo Show 5 for $149.99 A $30 price cut on the Kindle The Fire HD 10 tablet for $79.99 Check out a Black Friday deals preview from Amazon here. BestBuy Best Buy will begin rolling out some of its better Black Friday deals on Sunday, Nov. 22. To capitalize on many of these deals, you’ll need to be a member of the My Best Buy rewards program, and logged in. The Amazon Fire TV stick for $17.99 A KitchenAid stand mixer for $199.99 A Sony home theater sound bar and subwoofer for $149.99 Check out this CNET article (scroll to the bottom) to page through a copy of the sales circular. Walmart Many of Walmart’s deals are online-only this year. Their sales will kick off at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 25. Here are a few standout options: Samsung 65” 4K smart TV for $478 Google Chrome cast for $18.98 Honeywell Smart Thermostat for $99 Check out this CNET article (scroll to the bottom) to page through a copy of the sales circular. Source
