Last night I had a nightmare. I was shopping at Walmart with my husband. Being the electronic geek I am, I was looking at cool electronic toys, while my husband shopped elsewhere in the store.
Then I saw them. Two cell phones. One was 59 cents after immediate discount and rebate, and the other was 25 cents. Great deals! I just had to have them! I bought the phones and ended up paying $60 out of pocket (because I had to send in the rebates). Then I woke up.
In my dream, those cell phones were a good deal…for someone. But I already have a cell phone, as does my husband. So those cell phones were not a deal for me.
There are many times when a good price on something does not constitute a good deal for you. A deal is not a deal when…
- You won’t use the item.
- You already have a suitable alternative.
- The item will take up so much space, storing it will stress you out.
- You put the item on a credit card and pay interest on it.
- Buying the item puts you in a tight place financially and stresses you out.
- It is not high enough quality to withstand the type of use you plan to get out of it.
Those are some of the things I thought of. How about you? Can you think of any more instances when a deal is not a deal?
Photo by jakerome.
{ 14 comments }
I’ve been trying to tell my Mom this for a long time. Just because it is on sale does not mean you need to buy it. Especially, if you never use it and end up throwing it away. You may as well just save a step and take the money out of your wallet or purse and just throw it directly in the garbage.
How ’bout when you don’t love it?
I used to get swept up in those “one for $7.50 or three for $5″ promotions on kids’ clothes. But the truth was, I usually really likely one tee (which would match my son’s other clothing and featured a design he’d ask to wear again and again) while the other two were likely to hang neglected in the back of the closet, or, at best, go to school to sit in his extra clothing cubby.
I wasn’t saving $2.50 – I was WASTING $7.50. Now I just buy the one … or more often, keep looking.
This is such a great point! In my quest to “learn the new rules”
of savings, I have found it’s so easy to get caught up in the “it’s cheap, free, a good deal, etc., that at times I have found myself totally stressed out and exhausted from searching for
the deals and q’s etc. It isn’t a deal if you get yourself to this point often, particularly on non-essentials. When I find myself
doing this, I have to remember life needs to be enjoyed, and we really don’t need many of our “great buys”. If you are obsessed with saving, it isn’t a deal because you are missing out on too much life. It is difficult to strike a balance.
Just shopping at WalMart would be a big enough nightmare for me.
A deal is not a deal when you won’t be able to use it all before it expires.
It’s only a good buy if you will use it all or (in the case of a gadget) use it to it’s maximum capability. Unless it’s free – then all bets are off.
I had a friend whose Mom would stock up on every sale & after decades of stocking up their basement was full of dozens(if not hundreds) of detergents bottles full of expired detergent. The entire house was like that – a room of clearenced out sewing materials that had never been touched since she couldn’t sew & never had the time to learn. Before anyone asks – yes, last I heard she was getting some counseling for hording/clutter bugging.
This is so true! So many people jump on the “Well, it is just to good of a deal to pass up!” bandwagon. It is so easy to do.
I am linking this post on my blog to remind people, that a ‘bargain isn’t always a bargain”. Thanks for the reminder!
If it costs money, takes up time, or takes up space… these days I find myself not even bothering to look at the ‘deals’… once you have ‘enough’, there is no need for more :)
I sometimes catch myself with putting things in my basket/cart, just because “it’s a good deal”. Then I think to myself, do I really need it?
Ditto to all!
Living at high altitude in CO, the sun can be harsh. Although I ignored in the past, I know I need to protect my eyes with good sports-glasses. I went to a chain sports store to find something I could afford (being unemployed) that were 100% UVB and would not fall off when running. At first glance, I fell in love with some NIKE glasses that were on sale. I knew it was still more than I could afford. So I spent time looking through all the glasses. I found a pair of Boles that were on clearence for 1/3 of the original price (and $60 cheaper than the NIKEs). These work and stay on well when I run. Plus who cares about what looks “good” when I’m out to run – not win a beauty contest?!
So the NIKE price would have been a steal, but I found something better at a lower price. And they are great!
I work for a mobile cell phone company and currently in training for customer service but I do collections and you would be amazed (or maybe not) at the times when people have skyrocketing bills they cannot pay and then on top of that purchase a 400.00 phone. Then seem so confused as to why the bill is so high. I just don’t understand the mentality behind a purchase like that. New phones are expensive. The best thing to do is wait and then get a nice free upgrade when you sign up for new services.
Is this off topic? lol.
But if you could SELL those phones on ebay or the like and MAKE money on them…………….
Lynnae– you nailed it, “Is it a good deal for you?” I would add, “Right now?”
My mom needs to read this post. She buys clothes on clearance all the time and then they sit in her closet with tags still on for years! She CAN find some really great deals and some really CUTE stuff, but it’s not always the case. And being her daughter, I have inherited this trait, always searching for sales/clearances. When will we learn?
I am getting better on the not buying things that I don’t need. But the one thing I wish I could get better at is buying something that cost more knowing it would last longer. One thing I can think of is our breadmaker. I make our bread. I use our breadmaker at least 3 to 6 times a week. So a cheaper breadmaker will last about a year or a year and half. When I am looking at them, I want to “invest” in a more $$ one but the thought of paying out more than $75 for one when I know I can get cheaper, I just can’t do it…
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