What NOT to Do: Justify a Bad Purchase

This is a guest post. While I did not write this post, I think this is a great point. I was planning to write something about using false justification when making a purchase. I’m guilty of doing it, are you?

We all know the difficulty of forcing ourselves to not buy something we really want. Sometimes the temptation sat in your eye line, or you stumble across it while window shopping online, and you just can’t stop yourself from clicking on the “buy” button.

The worst thing about this is, you justify the purchase to yourself afterwards. You take the time to convince yourself that it was worth delving into your BullionVault for the funds, to buy that pair of shoes that cost more than your months wages. “Oh, it’s OK, I would have needed them eventually”, or “It was on sale, and therefore I was doing myself a favor.”

Stop right there.

No you are not. This justification is okay if it is something small that is a genuine necessity in your life. Say for example, the brand of shampoo you use is on sale, and you buy several bottles before it is raised to full price again, this is perfectly reasonable. Buying a TV when you don’t need one, because it was on sale, is not.

This is not to say that you can’t treat yourself occasionally, but a treat is not as special if they occur during every impulse buy.

So how do you stop talking yourself into buying what you don’t need? By admitting to yourself that you WANT it, but you don’t actually NEED it. Be honest and over time you will find it a lot easier to say no. You’ll have more cash to spare in no time, which will allow you to save for important things, and the occasional treat.

In short, justifying your purchases is a downward spiral. Once you start, you’ll begin to find excuses in other areas too. So try and reign in your impulse buying.

I also blog at A Five Star Life. I write about anything that comes to mind but try to focus on finding the good in daily life.