To be or not to be…impulsive

To be or not to be…impulsive?

by Kendrick Chua, The Wealth Warrior

That is the question. I pride myself in not being an impulsive buyer nor shopper (unless it comes to food). A trait I have inherited from my mom. I’d constantly debate with myself whether or not I should buy an item. Thinking it twice, thrice and even ten times until the instinct to buy it subsides or it’s channeled onto another item, whichever comes first.

Lately, I have been contemplating whether or not the trait I’m proud of makes me lose more money. The first time it happened was when Dan Brown’s latest novel, The Lost Symbol hit the Philippines last year.  I have read the two previous titles, The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons and I loved both of them. I believe I wouldn’t be disappointed should I buy one.

Plus, I have been hearing great reviews and some of my friends, who immediately bought it, are raving about it. I thought it would be a great addition to my collection. My instinct was telling me to buy it with a 20% discount being offered in all National Bookstores. The discount may not be forever it told me.

I just have to shut it up!

Wrong move! When I did decide to finally buy one, horror of all horrors, the 20% promotional discount was gone! Great, I could have used the 195.00 to buy another book or magazine. But still I was undeterred and went on to buy it. Good thing I didn’t regret it. It is turning out to be one hell of a novel…and I’m just in page 50 as of this writing.

The second time it happened was when I saw this pair of shoes being displayed along the halls of a department store. It was just the one I had always been looking for! A good brand and a better 70% discount! It was a bargain and if I was a girl, I would have bought it right then and there.

But I was a man.

And so I postponed my purchase until my impulse died down and when I finally decided to buy it, it’s gone. Perfect, just perfect! And these things happen to me because I am a practical shopper. I swear my gut whispered, “I told you so.”

Hence, I came up with two parameters to guide me during impulse attacks.

First, the item must be beneficial to me. The pair of shoes can add tangible value while the book can add intangible value-image and intellect respectively.

Second, the discount must be significant such that it is a waste not to take advantage of the offer. The combined discounts from both the book and shoes could actually let me buy another book and a pair of shoes!

Now I have a pair of guidelines, I am confident I won’t make stupid decisions (or the lack of it) anymore. I just need to find things to let my impulse kick in again.

Tags: impulse, Spending

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