After many years of thoughtlessly buying things without really examining why I bought them (and perhaps engaging in “retail therapy”), I’ve resolved to try to live my life without falling back into the consumerism trap; in short, I try not to buy things I don’t need. Recently, Prime Day tested my discipline – could I resist a deal?
I don’t want appliances gathering dust on shelves, clothing languishing on hangers in the dark recesses of the closet, or anything I might use once and then really have no need for again. It’s part of the process of de-cluttering my life. Companies that engage in these “Black Friday”-type tactics seem to tap into something irrational inside people, manipulating them into buying things they don’t need, that they haven’t really examined carefully, and that won’t ultimately enrich the buyer (but will enrich the companies’ bottom lines).
Like most other people, I enjoy getting what I think is a bargain. It feels like you’ve accomplished something when you think you’ve saved money…except for when you really haven’t. When you buy something solely because it’s what you think is a “good deal”, are you really saving money?
When you haven’t fully researched the product to validate that it’s the one you want (with the right features, for example, and ideally, one that’s been positively reviewed in a publication like Consumer Reports because I am extremely skeptical of online reviews, which are often fake), when you haven’t analyzed whether it’s a need versus a want, when you’re pulling the trigger on buying the item(s) prematurely because the app’s timer indicates that you’re running out of time to get the deal…all bad signs.
To be clear, I don’t sit in judgment of others who find themselves rushing to purchase a Prime Day deal – I put 3 items in my cart, none of which I had originally planned on buying, but after looking at the “deals” in a certain section, added them to my cart.
Fortunately, reason prevailed: in the last 2 minutes that one of the items had left (check out before it goes back to regular price!!), I realized these were just impulse buys (and, yeah, one was a vegetable spiralizer – would still like to get one of those sometime) and I deleted them all from my cart. I also went back and stopped watching three other upcoming deals. Know how it felt? Liberating.
When I’m good and ready, I’ll decide when and where to buy whatever it is that I feel I need to enhance my life. And not a moment sooner…even for 25% off! Resist! ✊
I’m still thinking about getting a vegetable spiralizer, but now I have time to compare models and read reviews to help make an informed purchase.
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