Spend Less with this Quick Tip
by Brandon Eley ~ November 6th, 2008. Filed under: Tips and Tricks.How many times have you woken up the day after making a big purchase and regretted it? That TV, computer, furniture or car seems a little more expensive than it did yesterday. You suddenly get a funny feeling in your stomach as you realize the credit card bill’s coming in the next few weeks.
Retailers rely on impulse purchases (trust me, I own and run online stores).They use all sorts of tactics to get you to purchase today instead of waiting and really thinking about whether it’s a good decision.
One simple decision has saved me hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars…
Never spend more than $100 on a purchase without first doing these three things…
Sleep on It
If it’s something you really need, you’ll still need it tomorrow. If it’s something you really want, you’ll still want it badly in the morning. But you may wake up and realize that it sounded like a much better deal when you were standing in the store than it does now.
Talk to Your Spouse
If you’re married, discuss the purchase with your spouse. My wife and I don’t spend over $100 without first discussing the purchase with each other. If your family household income is less than $50,000 a year, reduce it to $50. If it’s more than $200,000 a year, you can increase it to $200 or more.
If you’re not married, you can talk to a friend, parent or financial advisor. Find someone who will talk to you frankly. Ask them about purchase decisions. Listen to them, they should tell you honestly whether you’re making an impulse purchase or not.
Research the Product Online
This is absolutely required. Search for the item online and compare prices. Read reviews. Look at alternatives. You may be surprised to find out that great deal you saw in a retail store isn’t such a great deal afterall.
I was just in a local office supply store today and saw a Garmin Nuvi GPS on sale. It retailed for $199 and was on sale for $175, a pretty good deal. But when I looked it up on Amazon.com’s mobile site on my iPhone they had it for sale for $150 with free shipping and no sales tax. I would have paid almost $40 more for that impulse purchase had I bought it in the store.