One of the things my wife and I have planned is to purchase a big 32' camping trailer. This is something we pass by every time we go to the mall and it would be easy for me to just go there, andtake out a loan to buy it, then pay back the loan but that would just add onto our debt and who wants to be a salve to someone else? The way I put it may sound harsh but to quote the bible Proverbs 22:7 “The rich rule over the poor, and he borrower is servant to the lender.” If you take out a loan, or borrow money you are now working to pay off that debt. You enslave yourself for the length of the loan or until you repay it. In most cases you are also charged interest which means that big purchase now probably cost you two times what it's worth at the time of purchase and probably three or four times as much as it's worth at the end of the loans term.
There has been many times when my wife and I would see something we really wanted and we sat down, talked it through and realized it would be better to hold off and get it later on than it would be to go out and get it right now. It shows maturity when you can hold off.
We have some friends who I won't name but I will tell something that has happened to them that is a want, but not a need. My wife gets a call and it's from her friend who has borrowed a little money, and we gave them some too. She is calling to tell my wife about the fact her husband just purchased a ps3, and went to rent-a-center to purchase a TV. We all know PS3s are about 500 dollars with taxes, even at the reduced 299.99 price. A few days later they found out they are being evicted from their apartment. Her husband refuses to return the PS3 even though they are facing a financial hardship leading them, and their three children down the road of being homeless, or worse yet living with her parents [that's a joke].
I'm sure you read that and are probably already thinking what a bad choice, [probably using different words,] but this is a great example of someone who does not have the right priorities and made a bad choice, which we all do. I'm sure you can think of something you may have done in the past or even just recently that was a poor choice.
Here is an example of a good choice. A friend of ours had their water heater break down. Because he had saved up enough money in his emergency fund he was able to simply pay for a new one and for them to come out and install it for him.
We have another friend who used to get her nails done every week. Anyone who goes to nail salons knows it isn't cheap usually about 25-35 base, and if you add extras it can go as high as 80-100 dollars. She used to go for the 85-90 dollar range once a week, that's over 300 dollars a month just to have your nails done.
A friend who has been an entrepreneur since he was young, for the last year has lost his main source of income, and started a couple of new businesses to keep his family a float and doing well. He used to have two SUV's he had already paid off. He put them in the paper and online, was able to find someone who paid exactly what they were asking and made out with over $10,000.00 dollars in cash in his hands after buying an old car, and pickup truck. He later fixed up the car, and truck and was able to sell his truck, buy a good working SUV and still is doing well bringing in just enough to get by each monthwith his businesses. If he wasn’t considering his needs over his wants this could have easily gone in the wrong direction.
Another friend enjoys his truck. So much that he’ll spend thousands of dollars a month upgrading it. One example is he has purchased new rims at $4,000 dollars. He works two and at times three jobs so he really doesn’t get to enjoy all of what he is investing his money in. Most of what he does is drive to work then back home. Don’t get me wrong I understand people enjoy their automobiles, some more so than others, but if the entire point of having an automobile is to simply drive it from your house, to work, or somewhere else, park it and then get back in it to go home, why would you spend so much money on something that eventually will become out-of-date? I do understand taking care of your automobile, by getting its oil changed, and by getting repairs made that are needed. But to make your automobile look pretty when you are hardly in it sounds a little silly to me. I’m sure there are some out there that would not agree with me but if you put it in the context of what is, and is not important in life and when that comes before you and your family, or you and your basic needs, then it is not worth the cost. The amount of money he has spent on his truck has at this point far surpassed the fact that he could have paid it off early.
Another couple purchased a new car, well it was new to them, but previously owned. The payment on the car was over 900.00 dollars a month. They could hardly pay rent let alone put food on the table, and that was before they got the car. Needless to say they had the car repossessed.
What can you do to avoid impulse buying? Here are a few tips I use in my own life.
- At the store: When you are at the store bring a set list of things you need to get. Do not deviate from that list. Stores purposefully put things together to attract your attention to buy something you probably don’t need. Now there have been times when we’re at the store and we see something that isn’t on the list that is needed, and we get it. Most of the time for us it’s milk. But before we do anything we always communicate with each other and get only what we absolutely need.
- Big Purchases: When you are going to spend money, and it’s over an agreed amount between you and your spouse, or your accountability partner you need to communicate your need and want of the item. If it’s a sound choice and you have thought it through go ahead and purchase the item. If the item is a large item like a big screen TV, automobile, or something else worth thousands of dollars the best advice I can give you is to sleep on it. Do not buy it that day, go home, think about it, and if it is still a good idea to you in the morning go ahead and purchase the item.
- Pressured Sales: If someone is trying to pressure you into buying something then you probably don’t need it. In fact this is where the sleeping on it option works well. It gives you time to think, and it gets the pressure out of the way. Another approach is to simply tell the sales person or company you will not do business with them if they pressure you in any way. If they know that up front they usually listen to you and the experience is more pleasant on both parties.
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