US homes are now larger by 74% in the past. Yet, the average credit card American debt is $15,191 and 76% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. This suggests that we are living beyond our means.
Admittedly, I have also accumulated lots of stuff and I rarely use those. After decluttering my stuff, I wish I would have been more mindful before purchasing all these items. Not only I have spent time researching this item, but I also spent my hard-earned money on those items.
Therefore, I promised myself that I would be more mindful when buying stuff. Below are the questions that I created for myself and might be helpful for you to be a more conscious spender.
Can I wait?
For non-urgent items – I’d like to write things down whenever I really wanted to buy something and wait for a few/several days. Most of the time I found myself not really want it, or find a substation of the item. If an item survived for a few months, then I would get it after doing more research and finding the best deal.
By waiting, I am also more confident that I actually needed or really want what I was buying.
Can I get it for free?
If you are willing to wait, I found nextdoor app has been super helpful for me. For instance, I found free cat food, a cat litter box, and cat carriers for free for my friend. I saw people gave a variety of items in a good condition from a refrigerator, coffee table to a piano for free. What a steal! This also might depend on which neighborhood you are in.
Because of this app, I was so tempted to take lots of stuff but I might turn myself to be a hoarder.
Check also craigslist on the free stuff section, but I’d be more mindful i.e. asking more questions/pictures and going with somebody.
Can I afford this with cash?
If you have to finance the purchase, it might be a suggestion that you can’t afford it. a $50 pair of boots might end up costing you ~$65 depending on how long it takes for you to pay off the balance.
Furthermore, credit card debt can lead to financial stress, anxiety, and relationship strain. It is probably in your best interest to avoid unnecessary purchases at all costs if you can’t afford it.
Another option is to wait until you have the money in the bank account, and use a credit card to make the purchase so you still get the rewards. Then, you can pay off the balance in full and avoid high interests.
Do I already own something similar?
Surprisingly, purchasing something because we don’t remember what we already have is quite common. Particularly, this happened quite often with food and clothes for me.
To reduce the odds of buying similar items, I often double-check my apartment to know what I already have before going on a shopping trip. I made a list and open my freezer to see what items I already have before going to the grocery store.
When you want to upgrade something – such as a laptop, try to ask yourself questions – Do I really need to upgrade this laptop? What the new laptop could do that my old laptop couldn’t? How important is the new feature of the laptop for me? These questions really help to put things in perspective on whether or not you need to have an upgrade.
What am I giving up for this purchase?
I’ve been recently listening to an audiobook – Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work. In the first few chapters, I found an interesting subject about opportunity cost. This term is used in economics, however, the concept is very useful to apply in our daily life decision – including spending money.
An opportunity cost basically means something whether it is time, money, energy, or experience that you give up to achieve something if you chose one option over another.
For instance, if you choose to eat out overcook at home, the opportunity cost is the money you spent and the experience to cook and eat at home.
A similar question would be “Where else could I use this money?”, or “What is the next best way I could spend this money?”
What is the intention of this purchase?
A few questions to ask yourself are “Is this a need or is this a want?”, “Do I buy it because it is on sale?”, “Do I buy this to release my stress?” If you tend to impulse buy when you are angry or sad, it helps if you write an alternative plan such as listening to music or calling your friends.
I finally bought a laptop last year and It was a heck of a lot of money for me. I had to buy a new one because my old laptop was just incredibly slow.
When you see a TV on sale on Black Friday – ask yourself “Is my TV still working fine or do I want to buy this because it appears on sale?”.
It is okay to buy things because we want them occasionally, the goal is to make sure our purchase is meaningful and adding value to our life.
Can I borrow it from somewhere else?
Can you borrow the item from a friend or family? For instance, things such as tools and equipment.
I borrowed traffic cones from one of my friends before for driving practice. I was glad I did not buy them because not only I just need them once, they also take a lot of space.
You can also borrow books, audiobooks, CDs or DVDs from a local library. Check out Libby app where you can borrow e-book and audiobook by connecting your library card.
Will I get a lot of use from this item?
If you just use it once or a few times in the long term, it might a good idea to borrow, rent, or rethink the purchase. For instance, I would not buy camping supplies and outdoor gear just because I am going to camp once a year in the summer.
Another example, if it is a clothing item – I’d ask myself if I can pair it with other items in my closet. I found myself to keep buying new scarves but I actually never wear them 🤦
On the other hand, I spent quite a lot on music education. This makes sense because I do want to be good a making music someday.
Have this decision made me happy in the past?
This particularly happens with clothes me. In the past, I kept buying a cute small shirt but I ended up donating them. Until I declutter my clothes, I eventually realize I just never wear my tight shirts. Similarly, I kept buying specific grocery items and never actually finish them. Eventually, I just have to accept the fact I don’t like wearing or using this stuff and stop buying them.
How many hours do I have to work to pay for this purchase?
This question helps put things in perspective, particularly if you want to purchase something expensive. If you were offered a $1000 laptop, but you have to work for 40 hours – it would likely make the purchase less persuasive to you. When you buy an item, try to ask yourself, is this really worth X amount of hours of my time?
Is it right now the best time to buy it?
Generally, things tend to be cheaper at the end of season time. For instance, Christmas ornaments are a lot cheaper after Dec 25. This makes sense because retailers probably want to use those space for more seasonally relevant items. In addition, computers and electronics are discounted during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Here is a more detailed list.
For specific items I want to buy, I use amazon price tracker site to see product price history on Amazon.
Did you do research?
At this point, you are almost 100% sure to purchase the item. The next question is – Can you find a similarly priced or cheaper brand but perhaps with better or on-par quality? Amazon reviews and Wirecutter are good starting points to find product ratings and reviews.
Can you get it for less?
You can easily save some money on every purchase by shopping around. Find the best price for your wanted product on these sites:
To save on books, search on these sites.
On top of getting cash back from my credit card, I use below plugins to get more cashback.
Ebates and Wiki are my two favorite plugins when it comes to the cashback program.
To search for a coupon:
- Visit RetailMeNot
- Simply google the site name + “coupon code”.
Another alternative is buying it from a thrift store or consignment shop.
Do you have a list of questions before making a purchase? If yes, what are those? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Related Posts:
- 10 practical and easy ways to save money each month
- 11 Better Money Habits to Improve Your Financial Health
Vi, a software engineer with a keen interest in personal finance, had planned to retire once she reached her lean FI/RE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) goal. However, after achieving the goal, she took few months of a mini-retirement filled with travel and adventure and decided to continue her career.
For the past five years, Vi has been using Personal Capital (Empower), a free financial tool. Her favorite features include the dashboard for net worth, allocation, and planning, which help track her FI/RE goal and keep those investment fees in check.