Unless money is no object, shopping is something of an art form. Balancing cost against quality, usefulness and convenience can be very difficult, and confronted with an item you just really, REALLY want, it’s easy to lose control. Unfortunately, this kind of momentary lapse can result in financial catastrophe so unless you’re ok with living on pot noodles and ketchup until your next payday, it’s important to avoid the fatal splurge. To help you identify potentially disastrous retail situations, I’ve asked around and done a little research, and put together a list of 7 shopping mistakes.
1. The Rush Factor
Good shopping, like a fine wine, cannot be hurried. Never try to cram yours into a lunch break or rush through the mall on your way to an appointment. If you have a very limited time you won’t be able to take stock of all the products available to you. Without a good idea of what’s on the shelves, you can’t make an informed decision; how to tell which is the best item if you haven’t seen them all? Don’t blitz through a store no matter what you’re buying; plan your retail excursions, and only hit the stores when you’ve got a window that’s definitely big enough.
2. The ‘I Just Want to Buy Something’ Crisis
Remember, shopping is a means to an end, and the end should always be a good, solid, useful purchase. Never give in to that urge to buy if there’s categorically nothing good in the shops; simply put, it’s just a waste of money.
3. The ‘Online Shopping Doesn’t Count’ Conundrum
I suspect that this is something many of us do – particular we who work on the computer all day. It’s practically effortless to buy things online: because you don’t have to physically hand over any money (or a card), it somehow makes parting with your hard earned cash infinitely easier. Next time you’re about to click ‘buy now,’ take a moment to do a little mental arithmetic: if you can afford it, that’s fine, but if you really ought not to be splurging just now, remind yourself of the noodles and ketchup scenario.
