This is one of those habits that can really save you thousands of dollars each year. Have you ever made an impulsive purchase only to discover one day after that you really didn’t want to have what you just bought?
I have, and I was throwing away thousands of dollars in stuff that I was never going to use before discovering a simple tactic to save money.
Games, software, high-tech, even books. These are all examples of stuff I bought that I didn’t really need or want to have.
You see, whenever you make any kind of impulsive purchase, chances are that you are acting like a zombie, thanks to someone’s marketing tactics. Do you really want to buy it? No, of course, otherwise you would not throw it away after a few days just because you don’t have time for it or you don’t know what to do with it.
So what can we do? Well, it turns out there’s a simple and extremely effective way to cut 90% of these kind of purchases (I’d call them losses), and it’s simply to wait at least 48 hours before buying anything.
Think of it like a period of incubation for you to clarify your thoughts. Whenever you go to the shopping mall, and you are up to buy anything that you had no planned to buy before seeing it, stop yourself and move away. Give yourself at least 2 days to decide if you really want to own that item.
When you do this, you are effectively avoiding most of the marketing tactics that only aim at making you spend your money in useless stuff.
The good news is that if after the next 48 hours you decide to not buy what you were going to buy before, you’ll also create a sort of future protection against that item, because your brain has already clarified its intentions (unless of course one day you really need it).
How much is this tip worth? For me, it has saved at least $10,000 in the last year, so if you are not already using it, don’t wait a single day before implementing it in your lifestyle.
Remember, don’t waste your money in stuff that you don’t really want to have.
Posted on January 18 2010
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I agree that making impulse buying decisions isn’t going to do anything but cost you more money than you really need to spend. Waiting 48 hours before buying allows you to do some research online to see if you can get the product at a cheaper price.
.-= Greg London´s last blog ..Global Domains International payment proof and thoughts =-.
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Hi Oscar.
This is a smart maneuver. Impulse doesn’t usually last 48 minutes, and certainly not 48 hours. If this doesn’t work to quell the desire to purchase, then the purchase is a good idea. I like that you say it has saved you $10000. You’re probably right on that too. That’s a real skill about being able to see what you have saved. Most people don’t put in the time or thought to see this, so they just see where they lost money.
$10 saved, or an hour of time saved, is really an earned $10, or an extra hour of time. Some people don’t make this connection.
Accurate message.
.-= Armen Shirvanian´s last blog ..What You Do Is As Intricate As You Make It =-.
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Well, I actually bought a pulse- and GPS-watch for about $300 two weeks ago. A friend told me about it in the morning and a few hours later I decided to buy one. I’ve been using it every day since. With that said, I agree with you that we often buy things we will never use and by applying this rule we can get rid of most of them.
.-= Stefan´s last blog ..The Don’t Quit Poem =-.
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Hey Oscar:
Sure, waiting 48 hours is a great way to save money, but I found that many people do not have the will power to say no at that crucial moment.
Couple of simple advices could amend this:
-know what you are doing to buy before going to the store
-take only enough cash to buy what you are going to buy
-care only cash with you for the daily purchases
-leave your credit/debit cards at home
The key here is to just leave plastic at home. That way, even if you want to buy something, you will have no means of doing it to begin with. Worked wonders for me :)
Best,
Tomas
.-= Tomas Stonkus´s last blog ..Weekly Update =-.
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[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Oscar Del Ben, Walter Mason. Walter Mason said: RT @oscardelben: A Tremendous Money Saver – Wait 48 Hours Before Buying Anything http://bit.ly/6TFaEP […]
Hey Oscar,
Good plan. Give yourself time to talk yourself out of purchases is a great idea. Combine this with Tomas’ idea above and you’d save so much. Mind you if everybody did this, the world economy would collapse. Lol!
.-= Gordie – Lifestyle Design For You´s last blog ..Personal Development Through Song: “You’re The Best”. =-.
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Hey Oscar,
This is a good tip. Thinking over before purchasing anything is always helpful. Another way of saying this is always buy from a list – usually applies to your weekend grocery shopping and stuff like that. Don’t get carried away!
.-= Avani Mehta´s last blog ..10 Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You To Take Action – Part I =-.
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Great tip yeah! That’s one I’ve learned while leaving with a very few money, and that I’m using constantly. And when you start doing this reflection before buying anything, try also to look at other people in shops and malls. You’ll notice that many times, they buy stuff just for the act of getting something, that will probably be useless in a few days. That will comfort you in your decisions ;)
But I do that with a small difference. When I want to buy something, I put the item in a “Stuff to buy” list, ordered by priority. Then, I check one item after one, I decide if I really need its, and according to my budget if I can afford its. If not, I put the list aside, and see you next month. Like that, you’ll limit your expenses to what is really necessary, and also to what you can really buy.
.-= Ivan Probst´s last blog ..Jetlev-flyer, Le jetpack à eau =-.
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definitely liking this one, Oscar ! I spend way too much impulsively.
.-= Rocky | R O C K O N O V A.COM´s last blog ..FAITH “Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience” =-.
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Great reminder Oscar – this advice makes a huge difference. I have got a lot better at doing this and consequently at managing my money. (I have a guest post up at the moment at www.totallyuniquelife.com called ‘do you have to work full time?’ where I share the ways that have helped me manage my money better … it’s helped me cut my hours down and do more of what I enjoy.
Thanks again
Jen
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Excellent post Oscar!
I love that idea and have used it many times and often as a result I end up not making the purchase at all. You might try and convince yourself “what if it sells out” or something of the like but the truth is that if you really do need it then I’m sure there would be somewhere else you could get it from!
.-= Amit Sodha – The Power Of Choice´s last blog ..How To Inspire The World In Under 160 Characters =-.
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tell me about it! I often get impulsive when it comes to buying domain names. I end up buying domains that I don’t really need and have the time to work on.
When it comes to actual physcial purchases like gadgets, I now focus on just one item a year and ignore everything else.
.-= Anthony Feint´s last blog ..How to Take a Caffeine Nap =-.
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this is definitely right,i have practice this my self , many times due to discounts and special offers
.-= mohamed shaheen´s last blog ..How to configure Netbeans for BlackBerry J2ME development =-.
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