Kick these 5 Shopping Attitudes to the Curb

Posted On 29 November 2020

Last updated on April 9th, 2024

The shopping frenzy has begun! Black Friday is here. Well, Black Friday sales started the beginning on November. Cyber Monday will be here soon – and it looks like it might be Cyber Week. Ok, this year is going to be different. The sales dates have been extended this year to allow for social distancing.

The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year. All the hustling and bustling. Christmas music playing in the stores. The stores all decorated for Christmas. These beautiful forces can all work together to cast a spell on us – the buying spell!

Once we know where our weaknesses are, we can begin to work on changing them. Here are some of the dangers we can fall prey to during the holiday season.

1. Buying Impulse Sale Items

30% off! 50% off! 70% off! Wow! What a deal! When we go into a store for just shopping for a USB cable, and while we are in the store we are presented with a TV at an unbelievable price. Buying that TV is being good with my money, Right? We focus on saving so much money. While it sounds good, it may not be a wise purchase when it is not a planned purchase.

I have caught myself many times saying, “I wonder what that store has on sale.” This probably is a carry-over from when I was a kid looking at the Sears Christmas catalog. I didn’t look at the price – just the cool stuff! Since we are not kids anymore, we need to take responsibility for our money. When we take the time to research products and prices, we become educated buyers and then it is easier to find great deals.

2. Buying Sale Items on Credit

The objective of stores is to separate us from our money. Our objective is to get what we want while keeping as much of our money as possible. The stores know how to appeal to us when we are shopping and convince us to buy things we don’t need.

If we don’t have the money to buy an item, why not use a credit card? Carrying a balance on a card is common enough. We can even convince ourselves that paying off a credit card over time will improve our credit score.

Stores often tempt customers with in-store financing to move them from shopping to buying. Of all the times I offered in-store credit a customer, I don’t remember anyone asking about the interest rate! They were just interested in being approved so they could bring that new item home. Credit is something that should be entered into cautiously. In fact as I have written previously, we should learn the rules of the game.

Buying a sale item on credit can cost more than it would to just pay for that item outright. When we take advantage of sale prices, we need to make sure that we are really getting a good deal.

3. Saving Just Enough for an Item

From the time my kids started to want to buy stuff, I have taught them that they should save up twice the amount of the item they want to buy. This is something that I endeavour to apply to myself. When I am shopping for something to add to my life, I make sure that I could purchase two of them.

Now, this is not something that would apply to the basics of life. The point is to slow down the spending and increase the focus on saving (and investing) money. I apply this same principle to loyalty points.

The Minority Mindset takes this a step further and recommends having 5x the amount needed to purchase an item. They have a lot of excellent info on their YouTube channel.

4. Buying Gifts to Impress People

It is more blessed to give than to receive. Giving is a good thing. When we give gifts that we can’t really afford so that we can impress people, we should ask ourselves why we are doing that.

In order to keep our finances in under control, we need to live within our means. That applies to giving as well. In order for gifts to remain within our budget, they can be scaled back or we can make the gifts ourselves.

I am not suggesting being stingy with friends and family. We can take advantage of online shopping to become educated buyers. As educated buyers we learn the price-point of the items we would like to get for people in our lives. Then, we know if a price is truly a good deal or not.

5. Increasing Our Waistline, Not Our Wallets

It seems that every store has treats available this time of year. Seeing these tasty treats (and seeing them offered for a discount price) can sometimes be irresistible. We can even convince ourselves that we can indulge a little (which can turn into several times) during the holiday season!

I enjoy treats as much as anyone else does. We can work these into our budget. The holidays can be a treat-filled time! To keep our finances together we need to keep the emotions out of our shopping and buying decisions.

I love purchasing things at this time of year because of the amazing deals offered. If we plan for these purchases, it can be a great financial move. We can save money while earning cash-back and loyalty points. If you want step up your shopping game, check out my pages: Shopping Apps, Deals, and Rewards.

The holidays can be a time filled with joy, gift-giving, and treats. My hope is that we can keep our finances under control so that we can keep the important things in our lives the important things in our lives.