There are a CRAZY amount of ads that bombard us, especially this year. We get inundated by the TV, Internet, radio, newspaper, and mail constantly, especially around Christmastime. There are too many deals to keep up with; it is overwhelming. You could spend hours and hours looking at ads and coupons because there is so much information out there. The temptations never seem to stop.
Last week, I blogged about stocking and saving, so this week I wanted to blog about when to buy and when not to buy, thinking about needs and wants. We know that the holidays are a great time to buy electronics, toys, food, and really, almost anything under the sun.
As we were studying the ads the other night, it was hard not to get my hopes up about getting this Crock-Pot or that Pyrex deal, and JSarr was heavily eying the Best Buy TV deal. I even went out to WalMart by myself at 10pm on Thanksgiving to TRY to obtain some of these items. That was a mistake I NEVER want to make again (i.e., going by myself), but that blog idea is for another time. All that to say, we reviewed the ads to see which items we should try to get or not. We thought ahead and did research.
My time at WalMart was INSANE!!! I think that starting the sales at a more normal time for people to be awake like 10:00PM as opposed to 4:00AM was effective; tons more people were out than previous years, but it was wall to wall people and shopping carts. It was difficult to navigate the situation. Where are the sale items? Where are the lines? These were tough to determine. And some people were VERY impatient. I have never feared for my life on Black Friday, but this year I did for the first time. I was in an unmovable line, and twice I heard someone yell at the top of their lungs an unmentionable word in obvious anger. I wondered if they had a gun or something. I questioned my wisdom in entering this hostile environment. With that kind of rage, some serious damage could have been done. It was scary. Impatience grew. I did see a few smiles, too, and I tried to flash a few myself to help me to remember to enjoy this process. Anyway, since I was there, I found myself wanting to come out with some loot since I took the time to go out. (I quickly admit, that’s NOT a good reason to shop or buy anything.) And, yes, I did buy a few things, but probably not enough to justify entering into this madness.
JSarr is thinking we may be in the market for a new TV soon since the picture is a going out on our old one; we haven’t purchased a new TV for about 12 years. Of course, a TV is not a need, but I digress. We researched the ads and saw some great deals. He went out Thanksgiving night about 11:40pm to Best Buy to try to get one. About all I can say is, “HA!” The line for Best Buy was unimaginable, easily over 1000 people he thought. There are some seriously dedicated (and even downright fanatical) people out there, trying to get the deals. There are times to let go of certain deals, and this definitely was one of them. He turned around in his car and was back home about 12:15AM…after stopping to gas up; he didn’t want me losing time buying fuel during my doorbuster shopping Black Friday morning.
Going out on Black Friday at 7:00AM is much more reasonable. My friend and I plotted a course and knew the exact one or two items we wanted to procure so there wasn’t any impulse buying. The lines are MUCH shorter, and the attitudes are much better. We could breathe, and we had fun chatting with each other and other friends we ran into.
So after the madness, Friday night we drove to Video Only to check out the deals. JSarr went in without me, and came out saying that the TV he wanted was about $450. He told me if he just can’t stop thinking about it, it might be time to go back. He hasn’t said anything since….
Getting down to it, we need to think about the differences between needs and wants. We can’t let our emotions get the best of us, especially when we are physically in a store. Give yourself some distance. Tell yourself you will come back later, if you really want the item.
With all that said, sometimes it is right to buy a “want.” But it’s never good to spend money just because you’ve found a good deal. If you already have 20 white t-shirts, and you see one for $1, maybe you shouldn’t get it. OR maybe you should; maybe you should buy it and donate it to charity, or think of a friend or a family member who would be blessed by it.
Sometimes good stewardship in the store comes in the form of telling yourself, “No.” Know when to say “when.”
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