Comparing Prices Was a Bad Idea
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It’s always enlightening to see how our brains work – especially when the instinctive nature of the mind can be detrimental to the way we handle money. One such thought process is our propensity draw comparisons.
Many people blame credit cards, loans, and mortgages, which is (again) another form of human behavior – the tendency to find fault in others but not ourselves. Credit card companies may provide us with the tools to fall deep into consumer debt but credit cards are tools nevertheless – wielded by us, the consumers, to bring about our own financial demise.
Because we compare the prices of things we buy, we are actually inclined to spend.
This or That?
When we compare two things, we will find one that we prefer over the other. And when we are shopping, we will compare prices (among many other things like appearance and functionality).
I recently bought a DSLR camera. This sweet piece of technology costs a fortune – and it gets worse. For those who are not tech-savvy, they fall in the category of cameras that professionals use, which consist of a camera, lenses, and a bunch of accessories.
So, I was in the market for a new lens. After much research, I found a few that fit the bill for what I was looking for. One would cost in the range of $1,100 and the other would be around $350.
For a poor guy like me, there is nothing more to think about – the cheaper one it is.
If two items look the same, perform the same, there is nothing left but to look at the price tag. Naturally, the one with the lower price is the one we take to the cashier. Never did a third option come to mind – to not buy anything at all.
When “Opportunity” Strikes
More often than not, shoppers see a great deal and they won’t let go of that opportunity to pay less for something of value (or what they assume to be of value). Much like how people don’t like to miss out on getting rich, we must take advantage of a good price.
Some examples of must-spend shopping opportunities:
- Weekly supermarket specials
- Calvin Klein sample sales
- Black Friday
Even for myself, I’ve done my share of research (as I’ve always done before making a big purchase) and it is actually worse for a person trying not to spend. With more devotion into any aspect of life, we become drawn to it. Knowledge may be a bad thing. Once I found out what I wanted, I was compulsively scouting for a good price on the lens I wanted. As soon as I found a “great” price, I didn’t let that opportunity go to waste and spent my money.
Cannot Be Avoided
Since it is human nature, it isn’t surprising that most of us fall so deep into consumer debt. Even a self-proclaim frugalite such as myself will succumb to necessary-but-really-not-necessary purchases from time to time. I’d assume that the savviest savers with long-term goals are much more capable to resist this type of innate behavior but we must enjoy some of our money now. Right?
We judge. We compare. Live with it (but try to hold yourself back once in a while).
(Photo credit: TheBusyBrain)
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