My friend Shirley never ceases to amaze me; she has embraced the debt free culture and taken it to another level. Occasionally she shares new disciplines that exemplify out of the box thinking and I would like to share the latest method that she has adopted for herself as an alternate way of shopping that saves her possibly hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Shirley has used the 24 hour rule on large and small purchases. Once after realizing the vehicle she had purchased did not meet her needs, not to mention that it was an emotional purchase, she returned it to the dealership. She has returned retail items after discovering that her purchase was a want, not a need. How many people do you know that live with a purchase large and small and are very unhappy? Not Shirley, she exercises her right to say “NO THANKS, NOT NOW”. My view is that more people should be bold enough to take drastic measures to prioritize their needs vs wants! Way to go Shirley!!
Shirley recently shared that to avoid impulse spending, she shops online putting her items in the cart and leaves it there until the next day or the next time she is online. If she is still as passionate about the items in her cart the next time she’s online she will purchase it. Another tip Shirley shared was that an advantage to saving items in your cart or wish list is that the cart empties itself in so many days; therefore if you really want or need the item you have to shop all over again! Sounds like real effort to me. The cart forces an individual to think about each purchase real hard; hence the cart becomes the catalyst to the savings. Awesome!
Some of Shirley’s individual shopping carts has totaled close to $100 per online shopping spree. Some might say that online shopping at times offer better discounts with free shipping. However, Shirley emptied the cart and she SAVED $100. At times when customers shop in the stores they purchase once they have spent sometimes one to two hours in a store buying things that they want, not need. As Shirley shared this idea with me, my thought was perhaps this is not for most people; however it could save on gas and time by shopping online to find the item you want and go to the store to try it on and purchase it if you prefer in store shopping.
I am always excited to hear of new behavioral changes, savings methods and better ways of making the best use of your time. Thanks again Shirley!!!
E-mail me at christineroebuck@livemylifedebtfree.com or leave a comment.