Looking for a way to tighten up your budget, boost your savings, or just cut down on impulsive purchases? I’ve got a super simple method that has saved our family thousands of dollars over the years… and I think it might just work for you too!
As a child, I remember anticipating the Black Friday ads in the Thanksgiving Day newspaper.
It was the one time each year when prices were deeply discounted, and advertisers promoted everything and anything we might want to buy (whether we actually needed it or not).
My cousins and I pored over the ads while finishing our second helpings of pumpkin pie, and we made lists of all the things we wanted for Christmas.
Fast-forward a couple of decades, and (thanks to the internet) it seems that every day has a special sale with a new opportunity to BUY NOW.
Even those who intentionally make an effort to stay away from the mall, social media, and TV advertisements still see hundreds of ads every day with “special discounts” and “limited-time offers”.
Gone are the days when holiday shopping was the only time we were inundated with “buy now” deals. Now, every day is a buy now day.
No matter what time of year, we are continually bombarded with ads and sales opportunities that could do a number on our budgets and our homes (remember, you need to store all the things you buy).
If you have a love of shopping or gift giving, it will be even more difficult for you to resist.
That’s where I might be able to help…
Many years ago, I developed the habit of asking 5 simple questions before purchasing anything.
These questions changed the way I think about shopping, altered my perception of a “good deal”, and have been a key factor in helping us stick to our financial goals over the years.
These 5 questions have saved thousands of dollars for our family, and I think they could help you too!
1. Will I Use It?
I don’t care if something is completely free or even if you’ll make a few cents on the deal… if you aren’t going to use it or gift it in the very near future, just keep walking (or click away).
There is no point in bringing something into your home or life if you don’t have a current use for it. Period!
And if you’re giving a gift but not sure if the recipient has a use for it, go with a gift card instead!
RELATED READING: Love it, Use it, or Lose it.
2. Do I Have a Place to Store It?
Let’s say you found a deal-of-a-lifetime for something you actually need and could use on a very regular basis. However… you don’t have a place to store it.
You now have 2 choices:
- don’t buy it (preferred)
- get rid of something else (sell/donate) to make room for the new item.
You must think this through and honestly choose before making the purchase. If you don’t, odds are pretty high that your new deal-of-a-lifetime will become a cluttery eyesore in the very near future.
RELATED READING: Solve your “stuff problems” with a Space Budget.
3. Do I Want to Clean and/or Maintain It?
Anything and everything you bring into your home WILL require some amount of cleaning, maintenance, and upkeep. Often, more than you think.
Sometimes it’s worth it (like a crazy amazing deal on USA pans via Facebook Marketplace). Many times, it’s not worth it.
This is the question that most frequently stops me from buying gifts that require extensive maintenance or extra care from the user. I don’t want to burden someone else with that unless I’m 100% positive they want it.
RELATED READING: How to Evaluate the True Cost of Our Stuff
4. Could I Better-Use My Money Another Way?
I love asking my children this question as they don’t always think through the best ways to use their hard-earned money when their emotions get the best of them (I suppose many adults can say the same!)
The kids don’t always make the choices I would make or the choices I want them to make, but it helps to pause and consider how to best steward our resources before buying something — especially big-ticket items.
That said, I catch myself doing this even on little purchases, thinking about the fact that I could buy _____ with my money instead.
And Dave often jokes about anything in the $10 price range, saying, “I could buy a meal at Culver’s instead of that.”
RELATED READING: How to spend less and save more.
5. Will I Still Want It In 24 Hours?
Online shopping has exponentially increased the ease of impulse purchases — we want it now, and thanks to our ever-present smartphones and free Prime shipping, we can usually have it now.
The extra-special one-day sales with high-pressure ads often aren’t even that great of deals, but they sell out because of the time-sensitive pressure. We’re afraid to miss out, so instead of waiting and thinking clearly, we jump on a purchase we might not actually want or need.
I do love the convenience of online shopping, but waiting 24 hours has helped to reduce my number of unnecessary purchases over the years.
I have so many things “saved for later” in my Amazon cart… it’s amazing how many of them I would have purchased if I didn’t force myself to wait a day.
If you’re feeling pressured to “buy now,” that’s usually a red flag to turn away and see how you feel about it tomorrow.
RELATED READING: The saving power of waiting 24 hours.
These 5 questions have been extremely effective in my life.
Not only have they prevented so many dumb, silly, needless, wasteful purchases over the years, but they’ve also changed the way I think about shopping — to the point that I no longer shop unless I have a specific need (what a revolutionary idea!)
Just think how many Culver’s meals I could buy Dave with all the money I’ve saved!
I hope these questions motivate and empower you to improve your budget and your home organization simply by stopping to consider more of your purchases.
It’s a simple concept… but not always easy to implement!
What could you do with the money you save?
JoDi says
I can’t believe Miss Clara is 5! She looks like a “big kid” in that photo – no more baby face! It makes me a little sad, so I’m sure it’s bittersweet for you and Dave.
Andrea says
I know — she’s getting so grown-up looking (as are the rest of them).
I would say more “sweet” than “bitter” for us — we are excited to move onto having “older” more capable kiddos!
Kimberly says
Great things to think about and very helpful!! Always enjoy reading your weekly post.
Andrea says
Thanks Kimberly!
Chris says
These are great questions. I find myself buying things more often at resale shops because they’re cheaper and then deciding a few months later, I don’t really love or want them.
Andrea says
I have the urge to buy at thrift stores too (the prices are so good)! but I’ve gotten better, over the years, and limiting my trips to these types of stores so I’m not tempted to buy. I also don’t feel bad if I buy something for $1 and then turn around and donate it again a month later if it doesn’t work. 🙂
Michelle says
Andrea–
I just wanted to let you know I (and maybe others) am having a lot of trouble with your site. When loading your page my computer goes to a white page with a warning stating there’s trouble with the site I am attempting to view. I had a hard time getting here to leave you a message.
Hopefully the problem can be resolved easily so I can continue to enjoy reading your posts.
Michelle
Michelle says
This is the actual message I keep getting:
This page is having a problem loading
We tried to load this page for you a few times, but there is still a problem with this site. We know you have better things to do than to watch this page reload over and over again so try coming back to this page later.
Andrea says
Thanks for letting me know — that would explain why I haven’t gotten any comments or emails about today’s post yet!
It’s loading just fine for me, but I’ll pass this information along to my tech people to see if they can spot an issue.
Thanks again!