Have you ever bought something and realised, after a few days/weeks, that you don’t like what you bought nearly as much as when you actually bought it?
I know I have, and this is a classic example of impulse shopping.
Sometimes when we’re walking around in the mall or scrolling through e-commerce sites, we get this sudden urge to spend money.
Maybe it’s because we haven’t shopped recently, or there’s a massive sale ongoing, or we received some extra cash (ie bonus, angpow money, mahjong winnings).
Whatever it is, we just feel like shopping and buying something.
But the problem is that when this happens, we tend to like the idea of buying something more than the item we’re actually buying.
This may leave us feeling satisfied for a few hours or days after making the purchase, only for us to realise that we didn’t need/want whatever we bought as much as we thought we did.
While there’s nothing wrong with spending money to buy things that you want, if this happens too often, it can be financially detrimental.
One thing I like to do to mitigate this is to simply wait 1 more week.
During this week, how often I think about the item serves as an indication of how much I really want it.
It also gives me time to think about whether I really want/need it and how often I’ll actually use it.
All of this helps me come to a decision about the purchase and by the end of the week, I’ll usually have a clear answer.
This has helped me become more intentional with my spending so that I will only spend money on things I really value, and I am almost always satisfied with my purchases.