The other day I was at the store and saw a sign advertising “buy three loaves of bread and get the fourth free!” Before I even stopped to think about it I was picking up a loaf of bread, “that’s a good deal,” I thought.
But then I stopped to think: is it a good deal?
Sure, it was saving money, but only as long as I typically purchased three loaves of bread a week anyway – which I don’t – then sure it was great to get an extra free, as long as I would actually eat it – which I probably wouldn’t.
With the bread still in my hand though, I began thinking how I could make it work, “yeah, I could just eat a lot of sandwiches this month or make some bread pudding or something.”
I was trying to justify the savings; I’ve never made bread pudding in my life. I’m not even sure I’ve eaten bread pudding in my life, but because the deal seemed like a good one – because it felt like I would be saving money – I wanted to buy the bread anyway.
In the end I came to my senses, put the bread down, and walked away baffled at how I almost bought something I didn’t need on the premise of “saving money.”
We do this kind of thing all the time: we’re lured in by deals that claim we’re “saving money.”
The problem with that logic is that spending money is rarely saving money: money in your pocket is saving money. Here’s some ways to avoid spending your money on deals that aren’t actually as good as they seem.
Budget
Your monthly budget is always going to be your best weapon against any kind of unnecessary spending.
When you impose strict spending limits – and stick to them – it helps to put any spontaneous purchases into perspective.
If your food budget for the week is $50 and you see a sign for four loaves of bread for the price of three, then it helps to realize it probably isn’t the smartest idea to spend $7.50 of your $50 budget on bread you probably won’t eat.
When you have a budget you’re adamant about sticking to (and maybe a rewards systems for reaching your budgeting goals, too) then any unnecessary spending – no matter how good the deal – suddenly becomes bad for your wallet and your financial goals.
Read our Step-By-Step Guide to Getting Started with Budgeting and 6 Options for Tracking Your Expenses.
Shop With a List
You’re not supposed to shop for food on an empty stomach, that’s pretty common knowledge, but for the same reasons you shouldn’t go shopping without a list.
When you don’t have a list to remind you what you’re there to buy, then like food shopping on an empty stomach, everything starts to look good.
Wherever you go and for however few items you’re going, make a list. When you’re tempted to buy something you didn’t intend to buy, your list is a physical reminder of how much money you intended to spend and that any extra item is not saving money but spending extra money.
Adjust Your Thinking
When you see a good deal it can feel like the company or supermarket is doing you a favor; the reality is that they wouldn’t be selling it at that price if it wasn’t to their advantage in some way.
Maybe they’re trying to get rid of stock that isn’t selling or trying to push a new product, either way they’re still making a profit – no matter how good the deal seems.
It’s rare that companies are ever truly giving something away.
Before you buy something it helps to adjust your thinking and remember that someone is making a profit off of your purchase, so really consider whether or not you need the item.
Assess Your Needs
I’m going to regress momentarily. Sometimes a good deal can truly be a good deal.
If you’re fitness enthusiast, for instance, maybe you eat grilled chicken breast five nights out of the week. In that case, if you see a deal for four packs of chicken breast for the price of three, then this truly is a good deal for you.
Chicken breast were a part of your monthly budget anyway, so by getting one free you are genuinely saving money. They can also be frozen and thawed whenever you want, so you will be able to eat them rather than having them go bad.
In this case, the deal actually is a good one.
Where it gets tricky is with items that you simply don’t need. If a T-shirt is on sale for $3 down from $20, but you already have twenty T-shirts, then if you buy it you haven’t saved $17, you’ve lost $3.
It’s all about assessing your needs; assessing what you’ll actually use, and whether it was a part of your monthly budget to begin with.
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Companies want you to feel good after you purchase their items. They want you to feel like you’ve saved money by buying their product.
The reality is that the only way to save money is to not spend it. Saving $500 on a $3,000 TV isn’t saving if you only went into the store intending to spend $300 on a digital camera – you actually just lost $2,500 rather than saving $500.
Savings aren’t money in your pocket: money is.
Here are some of our top posts on saving money:
- 30 Ways to Save Each Month
- One Strategy That Immediately Limits Spending
- Why You Should Consider a No-Spend Challenge
- 10 Free Things on the Internet You Should be Using
- 6 Extreme Measures to Save Money
- 5 Reasons to Choose a Frugal Lifestyle
- 6 Spending Areas You Can Cut if You Really Need To
Have you ever thought something was a good deal but later found out it wasn’t? Like that waffle maker you bought but never used?
Check out some of our favorite personal finance resources:
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Make extra money: 15 ways to make money from your computer
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Absolutely agree with this post…sometimes you see something that seems a real good deal but in the reality isn’t so since I have a budget fro my grocery shopping I have my tips: 1-meal planning, 2-see what there is already inside my cabinets, 3 buy only essential thing, 4 write list and stick it, for the mometn it is working!!!
I’m so guilty of this! I try to justify it by buying only things that don’t go bad and that I actually do use (buy one, get one free cat litter is a common one). Great post.
It can be so easy to be guilty of this – especially as companies will do anything they can to market something as a deal when it’s simply not. In many cases, simple math can help you make the decision and see if it’s really a deal. In our case, if it’s not something we’d be using in the first place and we don’t have it in the budget then we usually just leave the deal for someone else.
You can put bread (and many other items) in the freezer, which makes more things that are a good deal actually a good deal. :)
I’ve fallen under this trap before but learned my lesson. I believe that it’s always best to have a list and stick with it. There are so many promotions and discounts that seem to give you more for your buck. But the truth, you will spend more than what you budget for. I know there are some savings in there but it’s easy to go over your budget when you avail these promotions or discounts.
One of the worst great deals is the new car deals. “PAYMENTS AS LOW AS . . . . .!!!!!”
Yep, that’s what pulls folks in.
Wow! I can afford that!!!
Yeah, maybe you can for a 6 or more year loan, BUT!! . . . . . . What’s the car actually going to cost you?
You really need to look a deal dead in the eye and strip it naked, then you know how much of a “Deal” it actually is.
I’m not someone who will look through store circulars or write a list ahead of time, so I would be the type of person who will fall prey to 3 for 4 deals. However, the one thing that I check before I shop is my freezer space. If I find a low price on something we eat, and it can be frozen, I buy enough to fill the freezer. For example, I bought 10lbs of ground beef when it was on sale, and I just bought six pounds of strawberries and will probably freeze 2-3 pounds.
I used to be into couponing and stockpiling but then I found myself spending more than saving! Ha.
Finally got couponing right like the time I bought 1 lb. of Morton salt for 0.59 from Waglreens when they were having a sale. I rarely coupon these days and if I do I use digital coupons. You also have to be careful with those deal sites that send daily deal newsletters.