3+ Things to Ask Yourself Before You Buy Anything

The thrill of buying things has changed over the last few years for me. I used to love shopping. I worked in retail for years, and genuinely enjoyed helping people find things they loved, and the huge employee discount was a fun perk as well. However, little by little, (mindless) shopping has lost its appeal. First it was a really intense deep dive into zero waste and ethical purchases. Then, I started reading about personal finance, and fell in love with the idea of being debt free. Now I’m sharing our journey, and part of that is the 3+ things to ask before you buy anything!

It wasn’t until I was a junior in college that I really started to see and understand money for the first time. Right now, our goal is to put in the hard work to change our family’s financial legacy . We want our children to grow up to be fiscally responsible, financially stable people. We want to be those people now.

A huge turning point in our debt free journey has been relearning how to buy things. When I was growing up I loved going shopping with my aunt and grandmother. They taught me a lot about personal style and getting a good deal. They had a list of questions they would ask before they bought anything. I’ve used (and adapted) that list over the years. Below are the three big questions I ask myself before making any (clothes, house stuff, etc) purchase. I’ll also be sharing the specific lists I use before I purchase clothes or household stuff/material items.

It’s ALWAYS about the $$$

Question one is always “is this a fiscally responsible choice?” It’s easy to forget when you’re in the moment and you feel like you need (aka probably just really want) something, and you have cash in hand, money in your account, or a damn credit card to just get it. It’s always a good idea to pause for a second and ask yourself a few preliminary questions.

Can I afford this (without using a credit card)?

If the only way you can afford to buy something is by using a credit card you can’t pay off in full when the bill comes, then you cannot afford it. Plain and simple. It sucks. I know. But becoming more realistic about what you can afford versus what you wish you could afford is a huge step in becoming financially independent. Also, do yourself a favor and physically cut up your credit cards.

Have I saved up for this?

I’m not immune to wanting things. In fact, I probably say “I want X, Y, or Z” at least once a day. When I say I want something (most recently a pair of gardening overalls) I find out how much it costs, and then I think about how I’m going to get the money for it. Sometimes I find that the work I’d have to put in to afford something isn’t actually worth the thing itself. Other times I budget for it. I might need to save my fun money for a couple months to be able to buy the thing I want. I’ve noticed that when I save up for something I feel absolutely zero guilt when I buy it, whereas if I make an impulse purchase (even if I love it!) I still usually feel guilty for not being more intentional.

I’m also a part of a family that gives gifts for birthdays and holidays. If it’s close to one of those I might ask for the thing I want. If I get it, great! If I don’t, maybe I got money I could use toward it instead. Otherwise, it’s back to budgeting for it.

Is this already in my budget?

Maybe I need a new bottle of dry shampoo. Or my shoes finally gave out on me and I need a new pair. Do I have a beauty or clothing budget set up already? Pull from that. Is what I need more that the budget I’ve set aside for it? Maybe new shoes cost $60 and I only have $50 set aside for clothing. How you choose to deal with this depends on your own personal finances. If I desperately needed the shoes, I would probably pull from another budget that we weren’t going to fully use, and then pay that budget back the next month while putting less towards the clothes budget. If I didn’t desperately need the shoes, I’d set aside the $50 and wait until we got paid again to pull from the next months clothing budget.

That being said, I would try really hard to not make a habit of pulling from other budgets. If you find yourself constantly pulling from one to add to another, adjust your budgets going forward. Maybe you need more for household stuff every month than you thought, your entertainment budget hasn’t been touched in weeks, and your sweet partner surprises you with date night at home (#thankscorona).

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WANT vs NEED

Oh man, there are a whole lotta wants that feel like needs to me sometimes. I can make the case for why I “need” just about anything. “Of course a new couch will help us spend more time together. Why wouldn’t a pair of muck boots make me more efficient doing outside chores?” It really is easy to do. Again, it’s important to pause and reflect.

If it turns out to be a WANT…

So you’ve paused and it turns out that you just really want a (fill in the blank), you don’t actually need one. First, see if you can either get by without it or use something you already own instead. If you can’t do that, save for it or add it to your next shopping trip list. Sometimes taking time and distancing yourself makes you 1- forget about the thing completely, or 2- makes you more resourceful, or 3- makes you realize you don’t need it anyway.

If it turns out to be a NEED…

An honest need should already be in your budget. If it’s not, ask yourself why. This is the part where you double check whether it’s actually a need. Once you confirm that it really is a need, decide if this is a one time need or a repeat need. If it’s a repeat need, adjust your budget going forward to reflect that.

To be fair..

We definitely still make purchases once in a while that we haven’t budgeted for or can’t afford in the moment. This almost always upsets our budget, and usually induces a bit of guilt. However, I do think this happens much less frequently than it used to, and is something we’re striving to quit doing completely.

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It seems like every few months I’ll get bit by the shopping bug. What usually happens now is that I’ll add a bunch of stuff I’m convinced I need to an online shop cart. I’ll look at it (somewhat obsessively) for a few days. I usually check our bank account and budget too. 98% of the time the feeling subsides after a few days and I realize I don’t need any of it. Once in a while when I can’t get something out of my mind for a long time, I’ll start saving for it. I’m definitely not perfect, or always as “gazelle intense” as I should be, but we’re working hard and we’ll get there.

To review

Here are the questions you need to ask yourself before you buy anything:

• Is this a fiscally responsible purchase?
• Can I afford this (w/o a credit card)?
• Have I saved up for this? Is this already in my budget?
• Is this a true need, or just a want?

I guess that’s 4.5 things, not 3, so we’ll just go with some are multiple part questions.

Thanks for reading! Do you have a set of questions you ask yourself before you buy something? Share your wisdom below!

Caitlyn