Why window shopping is bad for you
Even if you think you're just looking, you're also triggering your 'I wants.' Try these reader tips to help you steer clear of temptation -- and overspending.
Back in the days before one-click shopping, author and frugality expert Tracey McBride curbed her spending in two ways: She avoided the mall and tossed out every catalog that came in the mail. Looking at things she wasn't supposed to buy gave her a bad case of the "I wants," and made sticking to a budget tough.
These days she has to be more vigilant. When she needs to save money, she unsubscribes from e-mail newsletters that alert her to sales and sets a kitchen timer to limit the time she spends on retailer websites.
"I keep a timer at my desk and set it for five, 10 or 15 minutes, depending on the site and my schedule, and then try to move on once the timer dings," said McBride, who blogs at Frugal Luxuries. "I can't tell you how often it rings me out of my 'I wants' trance!"
Laura Gage, a reader on my Facebook fan page, swears off shopping altogether unless she's after a specific item.
"I don't browse stores online or click ads," Gage wrote. "I figure the less I'm exposed to, the less I'll develop an immediate, desperate 'need' for."
Just as it's tough to stick to a diet when you're face to face with your favorite dessert, it can be hard to keep to a budget if you're constantly exposing yourself to buying "opportunities."
"I'm terrible at this," confessed Brandylyn Swafford, another reader. "I see 'the deal' and tell myself it may not be there if I wait. Then I will be paying double for it. However, I find that I am then not sure if I bought it because I wanted it or because it was 'a deal.'"
Of course, we can't insulate ourselves completely. Even if we commit to a period of no-spending, like my "buy nothing" month, eventually we have to shop.
So here are some ideas on how to resist temptation when you're trying to save money:
Ask yourself what it will really cost
Some people think about what else they could buy with the money.
"I put it into a little better perspective. That $100 dress that I will probably only wear once could buy 4 BIG canisters of baby formula or 5 jumbo mega boxes of diapers for my baby," wrote Alexandra Pollick. "That's A LOT of diapers for one dress!"
Others focus on their goals, and whether the purchase gets them closer or -- more likely -- delays the day they'll get what they really want.
"I have a peaceful, relaxing image of me in early retirement," wrote Jenny Dillman Wilson. "It's appealing enough to make me want to transfer my extra money to savings and investments rather than throw it away on stuff I don't need."
Richard Ivey thinks about the time he spent earning the money.
"I always think of my worst hour ever at work," he wrote. "Say you make $20 an hour and something cost $60. You ask yourself: 'Is that worth three of the worst hours I ever had at work?'"
Think it all the way through
Visualization is an important tool for athletes and other performers. It works for shoppers trying to reform, as well.
Sherrill St. Germain tries to visualize "paying actual cash money for whatever it is."
"What would that stack of bills look like? Could I actually hand it over to a cashier in exchange for the item?" St. Germain wrote. "Usually, this image is arresting enough to clarify whether it's worth it."
"I use the '10 year' rule," wrote Dave Waldschmidt. "I ask myself how will I feel 10 years from now? Will I be glad I spent the money to create a 'priceless memory' . . . or would I rather have the money? The money, by the way, if invested would most likely have doubled in that amount of time."
Nancy Marion Cole cuts to the chase. "I picture what an item will look like at a flea market or in a yard sale in a year or two. Guess I really didn't need that 'want' after all!"
Use a wish list
You can create a document on your computer or use a notebook to record the stuff you think you want to buy and then give yourself a "cooling off" period.
Reader Smi Matthew Pryor keeps no more than three items on his list, and each item has to remain on the list for at least a week before it's purchased. "For example, if you decide there's an item on your list you no longer want and you replace it with a new item, the new item has to be on there for a week," Pryor wrote. "Purchases over $100 need spousal approval. And you have to have the money in the bank to be able to purchase said item (i.e., no financing)."
Reader Rebekka Van Der Does has a somewhat longer checklist she goes through, asking herself how often she's likely to use the item, whether she could use something she already owns, how long the item will probably last and what she would have to give up to purchase what she wants.
"If after all the previous steps I haven't talked myself out of spending money, then I leave the store (without writing down what I wanted), making a mental note of the price (rounded up in price, not down)," Van Der Does wrote. "If after several days I still want the item, I research my options for purchasing the same or similar product and see if I can get a better price than the one I'm willing to pay at the store."
Actually, research can be a form of creative procrastination that either helps you get over the "wants," or at least ensures you get a decent deal.
"I will price out/research, comparison shop for days, even weeks," said Kevin Wilkins. "For instance, I really love Stevie Ray Vaughan (and) I wanted a good collection on CD (all I had was old cassettes). It took me 3 months to find 'The Essential' on sale at Best Buy for $12.99 compared to $20-$30+ if I had just got it. I love this CD and it was worth the wait."
Some websites have co-opted the idea of the wish list. Amazon.com, for example, lets you note and store items you're not yet ready to buy. This may help you delay spending, but personally, I find I'm just reminded about items I would otherwise have forgotten.
Consider a substitute
Bridgit Bailey-Giedeman uses her cell phone to take a photo of a desired item, then goes home to "see if I can re-create it on my own!"
McBride is another fan of shopping her own shelves.
"Before buying anything I always look around my house to see if I already have something that will work for my needs," she said. "Leftover plumbing pipe became curtain rods, clear stemware transforms into candle holders or flower vases, a thrifted trunk was painted white and is used as a bench in our entryway, (which) gives it a nice Pottery Barn look for a fraction of the cost."
Others say yard sales and thrift stores serve their needs, and their wants.
"A few years ago we decided to start buying as much as we could secondhand," said Rachel Coyne. "When we do go to the thrift store -- a great place that supports community services with its profits -- things are very inexpensive. I've come to really like the thrill of finding just what I need secondhand."
If all else fails, 'practice' shop
Some readers put the item in their virtual or actual cart or carry it around in the store while they decide.
"Avoidance doesn't work for me. I like to face things head on," wrote Kim Gerhart. "Knowing that I can pull the trigger at any time, I carry it as I continue to shop so that I feel its physical burden. Most times it ends up back on the shelf."
Published Aug. 18, 2010
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