Avoiding the Sale Trap By Aisha Taylor

Nina looked at her email, and saw that her favorite shoe store sent her an email saying, “save 40% off this weekend only!”  Nina immediately started to think about how many new shoes that she “needed”.  She thought, “OMG that’s almost 2 for the price of 1.  I need to go there, because I need a new pair of black pumps and I have to have a pair of nude shoes.”  As Nina took a step back, she started to realize that was exactly what the store wanted her to think.  They wanted to trigger a sense of “I have to have it now.”

Nina thought about it a little more, and then decided to go to her closet.  She decided to take a survey of her shoes to understand what she already owns.  One of the things that she realized is that she loves black pumps.  She loves them so much that she has about 10 pair already, with very little differentiation and some of which had only been worn once or twice.  Immediately she realized that she didn’t “need” another pair of black pumps.  All she needed to do was to go “shopping” in her closest.

After surveying her closet, Nina did notice that she didn’t own a pair of nude pumps and there have been many times over the past few months were she wished that she owned a pair.  Therefore, Nina decided to go to the shoe store to buy the nude pumps, and only the nude pumps.  As she was there, she discovered the most fabulous pair of blue shoes.  She knew that she didn’t own a pair of blue shoes, and the shoes were not just on sale, they were on clearance for $75!!! The original price was $200.  Nina’s sense of finding a bargain started to kick in.  She started to think that she needed those shoes. 

Once Nina started to think about it, she realized that she barely wears blue and that she would probably just look at the shoes and admire them.  Eventually, they would end up in the back of the closet unused, and when she was really honest with herself, she only thought that they were fabulous because they were 62.5% off.  Nina discovered that in order to “save” 62.5%, she had to “spend” $75, which is not “saving” money at all because she wasn’t planning to buy the shoes.

Nina decided to only buy the nude shoes, and then paid herself $75 for the blue shoes, and put that money into savings.  Nina had a successful shopping trip because she asked herself these 3 questions:

1. Do I already own it?  Know what you already have in your closet to avoid buying multiples.

2. Do I really need it?  Is this something that I don’t have that would complement what I own, and how long have I wanted it?

3. Will I wear it?" If the item was full price, would I really buy it? Seriously?

It is important to keep these questions in the front of your mind whenever you shop.  These questions will help you reduce your impulse spending just as they helped Nina to reduce hers.

Connect with Aisha on Twitter @FNPhenomenal and like her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FNPhenomenal.  To learn more about Aisha and FNPhenomenal, please visit her online atwww.FNPhenomenal.com.

Check in with her next month for great information on:  

• Personal Finance
• Developing a Wealthy Consciousness ™
• Life Coaching (Goal Setting & Execution)