Your Take: How Do You Talk Yourself Out of Purchases?
Ben Popken of The Consumerist shared a tip from Janice on how she talks herself out of purchases:
If you find yourself in one of those moods where you just “have to have it”, and end up in the store staring at it, talk to yourself about it. List all the reasons you want it (want, not need), and all the reasons you don’t want or need it…
How do I talk myself out of purchases? I think of the Big Thing I’m saving for and whether I’d rather have the item right in front of me right now or the Big Thing sooner.
A few years ago, the Big Thing was a house. Do I want to go to the bar and have a few beers with my friends or do I want to be able to buy my house sooner? Do I want to buy a new shirt or buy slightly more house? Do I want to buy a new computer or do I want a house in a better neighborhood? The house always won out.
I think that we will always have a Big Thing to save for. If not a house, then for a wedding. If not for a wedding, then for children. If not for children, then it’s for their education or something else they need. There is always something that qualifies as a Big Thing, something that is far more important than an impulsive purchase and that’s how I save money.
How do you talk yourself out of purchases?
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There are 9 comments, add your thoughts now!
Great post! I actually talk myself out of some purchases with a waiting period. If I find I don’t think about it much for a week after I think I want it, then obviously it’s really not that great. It’s actually worked really well for avoiding purchases.
And I like your Big Thing idea. Right now, ours is a yard. We’ll be saving up all winter. So now I can ask myself: Do I want to put the yard in during May, or do I want to wait until June? Or July?
Time is the best. Put it off for a couple weeks…the feeling passes.
Consider where I will put it. We have a cluttered house as it is.
Talk it over with my wife.
I agree with the other commenters, time seems to be a great strategy. It you wait a while, that ‘got to have this’ feeling seems to pass.
If the purchase is not The Big Thing but big enough to warrant thought, then I’m not comfortable buying it until I’ve done some research to make sure I’m getting a good price (usually online is better) as well as to see if other similar products have different features I might prefer. I hate the feeling of spending a lot of money only to find a better product or deal elsewhere.
This is a tough one for me. I try to remember the “Big Thing” I should be saving for (a house), but often that feels so far away. And I really should pay off my debt first before I do anything (credit cards, car, and student loans) and that’s much less exciting than buying something new.
I ask myself “how much am I actually going to use this?” and that separates a lot of the need/want items.
Great ideas Jim. I just bought and house and that was the big thing for my fiancee and I. The next big thing is our wedding and then a car. When I look at something to buy, I always think of how many times I will use the item and if it isn’t many, then I try to just forget about wanting it anymore.
I don’t have to talk myself out of purchases. My low bank balance (I don’t have credit cards) does it.
After digging myself out of debt I have a hard time spending money, the dollars in my bank account are hard won and for the most part I’d rather hang on to them then spend them on something. Even when I have the money I am loathe to part with it, it’s gotta be something I really need. The small house helps when the significant other wants to buy something, all I have to say is where on earth would we put it and he usually shuts up.
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