To Buy or Not to Buy?

Okay, so you have it in your hand, you walk up to the cash register; the moment of paying for it approaches. This is the time to have a dialog with yourself. Do you love it? Do you need it? Do you have one or more at home like it? Will this replace one of those? Is it more about the sexy design, or worse yet, the enticing packaging? Once you get it home, you have to find a place for it, get rid of the packaging, do something with the receipt, pay for it on the credit card later (maybe with interest,) on and on. It is a time consuming proposition to add a new possession to the mix. So—if you have a successful conversation with yourself on the way to the cash register, you may just realize you don't want, need, or "have to have" it. Sometimes just knowing you you can have it is enough to fulfill shopper's lust. Do you ever buy something, only to get home and wonder what you were thinking? You can always take it back. In this scenario, you get to have owned it briefly (acquisition) and then get rid of it (relief). But you do have the added annoyance of having to run that return errand, and risk buying yet another thing. Whatever your process, try and begin to have a dialog with yourself before you buy things. If there is any little shred of resistance, then you probably don't need it. The best part, when you put something back on the shelf, is the blissful moment when you walk out of the store unscathed. You don't have to do anything. It was just a moment of shopper lust. And you're home free.