I love to shop.  Going to the stores.  Browsing online.  Comparing prices.  Reading reviews.  Deciding exactly which item is the right one.  Finding exactly the best deal on the thing that I need or want.  I love the whole process.  Unfortunately I’m not independently wealthy, so while shopping is a great hobby, I can’t purchase everything I’d like to.

You likely already know that I’m a big fan of shopping at thrift stores and other resale shops.  When I can get a great piece of clothing from the 49 cent rack, I’m beside myself with joy.  And if I pick up something that turns out to be less than perfect from Goodwill, then I’ve got so little invested that it’s no great loss.

But thrift stores are generally only good if you’re not shopping for something in particular.  You go in, see what’s there, and buy what you think fits your life.  But when I actually need something in particular, I turn to Amazon.com.  The online superstore has absolutely everything.  Generally complete with multitudes of reviews to help you compare quality of different products.  I’m pretty quick to find something that I’d like to have and put it into my Amazon cart.  But most times, it will stay in my cart for a good long time.  I’ll keep it there, knowing I can find it quickly if it turns out I need the item in short order.  Maybe I’ll have three or four different versions of the same thing hanging out in my cart while I try to make a decision.  And many times, after I wait for a day or two, the urge to actually purchase the item will pass.  I figure out how I can live without it.  I find something similar at Goodwill or on Freecycle or on Craigslist.  Or maybe it turns out I didn’t really need the thing at all.  Many is the time that something will go into my Amazon cart, it will stay there for days or weeks or even months, and then I will discard it.  It was clearly something I didn’t need.

By giving myself this cooling down time after putting something into my online cart, I’ve managed to save a lot of money by avoiding the impulse purchase.  Whether you’re shopping online or in physical stores, it’s always a good idea to give yourself a waiting period before you make the actual purchase.  This helps you to take the time to make sure you really need to make the purchase.  Once you bring an item home, it’s hard to bring yourself to return it.  But by waiting to make the initial purchase, you establish some certainty in the decision.

Maybe I don’t get instant gratification by following this plan.  But I avoid a lot of buyer’s remorse.