Is saving money in your day to day life a priority for you? Do you get excited over a deal, a sale or a bargain? Does the thought of shopping give you a warm feeling? What if you found out that a deal, a sale or even a bargain is not saving you money? What if you were to change your entire mind set about spending and saving? Most of us have bought into the hype that, if you bought something on sale, you "saved" money.
In reality if you spent $80.
00 on an item that was originally $100.
00, you didn't "save" $20.
00 - you spent $80.
00.
Further, if you did make that purchase and supposedly saved $20.
00, did you immediately put that money into a savings account? If you didn't put it in savings, did you really save it? The marketing industry shouts all the time, "Save, save, save!" However if you really look closely at what you are doing, you aren't saving by seeking out the "Best Deal Ever", the "Biggest Sale Of The Season", or the "Bargain Of A Lifetime".
Indeed you are not saving at all, you are spending.
The problem is you have been bombarded with the hype for so long, somewhere along the way you started believing it.
While it is true that if you were planning to purchase an item to begin with, the best option is to find the lowest price with a reputable company that offers a good warrantee.
The problem lies in making purchases not because you were intending to buy it anyway, but because the store convinced you that you would never be able to buy it at this price again.
This is where impulse shopping starts, and that doesn't save you money, it costs you money.
So how do we become convinced to make purchases so easily? The marketing industry has spent millions of dollars figuring out how the human psyche works.
They know our weaknesses, our buttons and how to push them.
They even know what colors trigger our spending sprees, and they aren't afraid to use them.
Here is a great example of working on the human psyche.
If you have ever been to a gambling casino, you know there is a lot of noise from slot machine bells.
Do you think every time those bells go off someone is winning money? They are not.
The weird thing is that usually they just lost some money.
The way it works is a person puts say $10.
00 into a slot machine.
They wager $5.
00 on a single bet.
They hit a series that pays $3.
00 and the slot machine goes into ringing, flashing light mode.
But the person just lost $2.
00, they didn't win anything.
Does all this hype make person feel like they just lost money? No, instead it makes them feel like they just hit a winning combination.
The retailers use the same tactics.
So how can you avoid buying into the marketing blitz? First examine your needs vs your wants.
Give purchases the 24 hour test.
If you feel you really want to buy something, wait 24 hours and see if you still feel the same way.
Look at a purchase as money spent not money saved.
Money saved is the amount you are putting into a savings account.
Don't buy into the media mania.
Recognize it for what it is, instead taking the ads as truth.
Change the way you think about advertising.
Analyze ads and see what tricks and gimmicks they are using to get you to buy.
If you still feel the need to make a purchase, find the best price.
Don't be afraid to barter for anything you really want to purchase.
If you feel warm and fuzzy by spending, think how warmer and fuzzier you will feel with a savings account that can cover you in emergencies.