10 Questions to Ask Yourself for Regret-Free Spending -

I’m still on a finance “kick” so to speak as the hubs and I have paid off another student loan and are two years away from having all private student loans paid in full. I shared these regret-free spending questions with my Budget Challenge Facebook group in January and I’m here to share them with the rest of you now! These are questions that you can ask yourself before you buy anything – if you are going to the mall to shop, if you are meeting up with friends for dinner after work, etc. Write them down and carry in your wallet so you are forced to go through these questions before you swipe your credit card at the checkout counter. It can help to keep your impulse purchases in check as well as your budget. 🙂

Can I afford it? – This may seem like a very easy question, but credit card debt has hit a record high, so it’s not as easy of a question as one might think. Nine percent of Americans with credit card debt don’t feel like they will be able to pay them off. Oftentimes when we tell ourselves we can afford it, we are masking the underlying excuses we keep telling ourselves – “I just got paid…”, “I deserve this, because…”. The truth is, if you aren’t already tracking your expenses then you truly don’t know what financial shape you are in so how do you know you can afford it? And if you don’t budget specifically for that item, the answer is “no, I can’t afford this.”
How long did it take me to earn the amount of money this item costs? Rather than specifically look at an item and see that it’s on sale or that it only costs “x” amount of dollars, think about how many hours you had to work in order to afford that item. If you make $15 an hour and the item you want to purchase is $200, you have to work more than 13 hours to afford that item. Technically it’s more, because that’s not accounting for taxes, healthcare, retirement, etc. that you are being taken out of each paycheck.
What else is this going to cost me? Is the item you are purchasing going to require maintenance, additional parts, or a substantial time commitment? Will it require you to spend additional money or time that you don’t have on it?
What else could I spend this money on? Stop and think what else you could be spending your money on. If you stopped buying a $3 coffee in the morning on your way to work (assuming you work 5 days a week) you’d save $60 a month that you could put towards your emergency fund or paying down debt. If you buy lunches or eat dinner out often, then you could be saving even more.
Can the purchase wait 24 hours, a week, a month or even a year? Is this purchase really a necessity or a want? Some purchases are necessities, like when your washer breaks beyond repair, etc. However, most purchases can wait at least 24 hours to a week even if it is a more urgent purchase. This will at least allow you to do some research and make a more informed decision regarding the product you intend to buy. In the meantime you can take your clothes to the laundry mat, despite the inconvenience you may experience.
Where can I find the best value? I’m not saying that you have to drive around to all the different stores to search for the lowest price. Taking into account price, quality, customer service, travel distance, etc. you always want to buy the best quality product your money can buy. When we bought our appliances we actually got creative. Best Buy sold all of the appliances the traditional stores did (Home Depot, Lowes) but only online. We researched, then viewed them at the “traditional” stores but got the best price and better financing (0% for 48 months) at Best Buy.
How often will I use it? Can I borrow from someone else? If it’s not something that you intend to use everyday can you borrow that item from a friend or neighbor when you do need it?
Where do I intend to store the new purchase? Kitchen appliances can take up a lot of countertop real estate. I know, because I have a mixer, toaster oven, a blender, and now an Instant Pot. No matter what your purchase is, where do you intend to store it and do you have room for it?
What is the return policy? The hubs is notorious for having buyer’s remorse no matter how large or small the purchase is. If you slipped up and forgot to ask yourself the above questions, can you return that item you now regret purchasing? How many days do you have to return it? Do you need a receipt? What’s the fine print of the return policy?
Do I really need it? It’s ok if you want an item that’s not a necessity. You can still make the purchase, but you should be able to distinguish between a need and a want. It’s just another question to ask yourself and make sure you actually want to go through with the purchase.