Impulse Buying...

Avatar for cl_phocid
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Impulse Buying...
6
Tue, 04-05-2005 - 11:38am
When and what was your last impulse purchase?

All my best,
Danni

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Tue, 04-05-2005 - 11:58am

Good topic. I guess it was about a month ago and my monitor on my computer died. Normally I would go online and research what the cheapest/most reasonable monitor was and go buy it, but without a monitor that was impossible. It was the weekend and I suppose I could have waited to worry about it, or I could have driven all the way to work (50 miles round trip) and searched online there, but of course I didn't want to drive that far and I *did* need to balance my checkbook which could only be done on my computer if I went and found a new monitor, lol. I sat around for a while and decided I would comparison shop the old fashion way. I drove to Best Buy, checked them out, then drove to Circuit City, then back to Best Buy to get the $80 monitor they had there (ok, it was $100 but I do have the $20 rebate in my wallet and I will send it in).

So I am getting the monitor and I see mp3 players. I bought one. It was $100. I justified it by reminding myself that I did not buy myself (nor did any other person on this earth) buy me a Christmas present, and I had just gotten my tax refund which was $2,184, of which $2,000 had been spoken for (to pay off the down payment on my car which was sitting on my Chase credit card). So I called it my Tax Refund Gift To Myself. No waiting, no researching the best one's out there, I just had a short consultation with the sales guy and into the cart it went.

I learned though that impulse buying for me can be a slippery slope. I found that once I had permitted an unplanned purchase, the second unplanned purchase was just as wasy and I was a little more lax with my budget the rest of the month; there were a few other unplanned (although not as large) purchases that shortly followed. The good news is that I am back on track with my budget now and my new mp3 player has been very useful at work (to tune out some noisy distractions) and I enjoy using it at the gym too. I felt guilty for a couple days after I bought it, but once I started using it the guilt went away and now I think it was a good purchase. Even though I didn't research it first, I'm very happy with the one I chose. However, next time I'm going to try and make myself wait a little bit just like I would normally do, wait, research, work it into the budget and then buy it.

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Avatar for cl_phocid
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 04-05-2005 - 12:10pm

My last impulse purchase was about a month ago: scrapbooking supplies at Costco.

All my best,
Danni

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 04-05-2005 - 12:57pm
Bath and Body shop. Yesterday. I went in for facial cleanser (I need different ones for different times of year) and ended up with a bunch of stuff. They have some new scents Lemon Verbena and Lavendar something. I should never be allowed into that store with a chaperone. Luckily I only go once every 4 - 5 months. I used cash, so at least its not debt - and I smell great!
And Dani -- there are scrapbooking shows on TV. I have never actually watched one, but I see them on the channel line up (directTV). Maybe if you watch one, you might feel inspired and use your tools :0
Sandra
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-20-2004
Tue, 04-05-2005 - 6:12pm
Hey, Danni,
I have always wanted to scrapbook, too. My friend ( who is single and has no kids ) is a scrapbook junkie. But you know what i do? I like to buy square picture frames and scrapbooking paper and display my pictures that way. I even write in cutesie quotes. The project only takes an hour or two, and voila? A nice way to hang your pics, get your creative juices flowing without having a never ending project on your hands. Not too intimidating. But hey, cutting your chase card with your new scissors is pretty cool too ! : )
Avatar for mquin73
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 04-06-2005 - 2:47pm
The sad thing is that I have alot of impulse purchases.....especially since we received our tax refund 2 wks ago.


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Avatar for cl_beckymk
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Thu, 04-07-2005 - 10:03am

I've been really bad about this!