Do I Really Need: to have it NOW

Well, this is going to be the first of a series of articles I write that discusses necessity, but in a financial sense. I hope y'all like these, because I'm planning on doing about one a week!

So say you're walking down the plaza (or nowadays, outdoor strip malls) and you pass by a store with something shiny in the window. You glance back, and it's the that you've wanted all your life! At this point, let's pause the mental flashback...

Okay, so right now you have two (and ONLY two) choices: buy it now, or don't. It's that simple, you can purchase said item right then and there -- this is what we call an "impulse buy" -- or you can fight off the urge and just keep walking. We've all been in this position before, and most of us are guilty of executing the impulse buy at least a couple of times in our life, especially right after we just got our paycheck, or bonus, or support payment, or . You know what I'm talking about. We're ALL guilty.

Well I'm here to tell you to try to nip that practice in the bud! There's too many things draining our bank accounts nowadays, from toll fees, insurance and taxes, gasoline, to basic necessities like food, water, electricity, gas, etc. Can you really afford to make that impulse buy in the long run?

If you're reading this and your name just so happens to be Donald Trump, then stop reading. Make that impulse buy, and props for keeping that American flag flying despite your cowardly, greedy HOA. For the rest of us mortals, let's think about it. I usually stop and take 10 deep breaths before I even BEGIN to make a decision, and once I'm ready the thought process looks like this:

1.) Do I need it?
2.) Do I really need it?
3.) Do I really, really, REALLY need it?
4.) Will my wife/husband/child/cat be upset if I buy it?
5.) [and here's the most important question of all] How much potential interest from investments am I losing if I buy it?

Notice a trend, here? Anything short of rent, food, water, electricity, and gas is for the most part NOT a necessity, and the longer you can hold off on buying it the more you can earn in the long run. Ask yourself if you even need it, and whether or not you'll be enjoying it a year from now, much less a week from now!

The overall question to ask is if you even need it, but should the answer be 'yes' then an equally important question to ask is "when?" If you can live without it until at least your next monthly billing cycle, then that's already a good first step; delaying it a few weeks at least removes the "impulse" factor from the decision, since it's now a "scheduled buy", and you can go ahead and put the money you would've spent into a savings account. The next question to ask is "how long can I live without it?" If the answer is "quite a wihle" then you should either reconsider your need for it, or maybe schedule it as a sort of reward down the line for hitting a major mile marker or accomplishing a goal.

I won't go into the details of how much potential earnings you'd lose if you made the impulse purchase instead of investing it (it has been rehashed dozens if not hundreds of times over the internet); you already know that you'd be losing a lot of potential income. It's obvious to everyone, even you, except when you are standing there in front of that window gawking at with your fingers inching towards your wallet. Just keep this in mind the next time you go shopping (or leave your wallet at home!).

~hhh.cubed ^_^