So you’ve decided that you’re going to be good with money this month… and then the Nordstrom Anniversary sale hit!
You’re just going to spend on the things you have to buy. There will be no extra spending, no little treats – you’re basically going to be a modern-day monk and rely on your existing stash. Your wardrobe does not need any new additions, your shoe collection doesn’t need to be expanded – so you’re going to make it through the month just fine.
Except… then it happens. The email arrives, advertising a sale. You open it out of habit and see items you have been eying for months have now had their prices cut. That dress you know would be perfect for that upcoming wedding; those shoes you tried on once that made your legs look 10 inches longer… all with substantial discounts.
So, you tell yourself, what’s the smart thing to do here? You’re as good as certain you’re going to buy these items eventually – so why not do it now, when they’re on sale? In fact, you reason, they might actually sell out and then you’ll never get to buy something you really wanted. And sure you’re meant to be saving money this month, but this is too good to pass up – right?
Wrong.
Here are a few ways to bring yourself back from the brink and keep your cards in their purse, even when tempting sales are here.
REALITY CHECK: You Don’t Really Want It
After all, if you want to buy that perfect item so much, why do you not already have it? If it was that crucial to you – crucial enough to break a spending pattern you’d voluntarily put yourself on – then you should have it by now. You’d have found a way to pay, saved up, looked into the rules for short term finance in pursuit of a loan that could make it yours, or flexed your credit cards, if it was something you really wanted more than anything.
You might like it a lot and want to own it, but there’s a big difference between the genuine items you adore (and should always consider treating yourself self to) and everything else.
REALITY CHECK: The Store Is Deciding Your Finances
No longer do we have “sale seasons”; sales are constant throughout the year. Even when there’s not a sale directly on, a bit of hunting can usually find a discount code or two to reduce the cost of your purchases.
Sales are meant to whip up a frenzy in shoppers and convince them that the item is going to sell out or become unavailable soon – even if that’s not the case. Don’t fall for the marketing; make your purchases when you decide, not when instructed to do so by a store.
REALITY CHECK: There Will Always Be Something
No matter how much you tell yourself it’s just this one thing and you’ll be on your best spending behavior after that, it’s not true. There will always be something that tempts you; something that seems too good to pass up. So practice your resistance now and say no – in time, your self-control will strengthen, and your finances will be all the healthier for it too!
