海角大神

I鈥檝e been going to the same barbershop most of the time for the last fifteen years or so. We grew up in the same area, so it鈥檚 rather fun to catch up with him on things that are happening in our hometown area.

He鈥檚 a good barber, so he鈥檚 also pretty busy. He also operates almost entirely on walk-in business, so when you show up, you get on a list and have to wait for about thirty minutes or so.

When I go there to get my hair cut, I鈥檒l often wander around the small shops nearby 鈥� and there happens to be a shop that sells board games about four doors down. Board gaming is one of my biggest hobbies, so I鈥檒l often walk in there to browse the shelves.

That鈥檚 when I have to be careful.

When I鈥檓 in that store, there鈥檚 a lot of temptation for me to pick up and buy a new board game. I鈥檒l think about playing it with my wife and with my friends and recall the many great experiences we鈥檝e had around the table. I鈥檒l think about playing it with my sons and my daughter in the future.

I鈥檒l be sorely tempted to just buy the game. After all, I can afford the sticker price. Why not just buy it and make those dreams a reality?

That line of thinking leads to a lot of unnecessary spending. It rides the emotional wave of impulse buying right to the conclusion, where you鈥檝e got an item you bought open in your home and you鈥檙e realizing that maybe buying it wasn鈥檛 the best idea. With those board games, for example, I often realize that we have quite a few games that we love playing already on our shelves.

My first line of defense against these types of impulsive purchases 鈥� the ones where I know I could afford the unnecessary item 鈥� is the ten second rule, which I鈥檝e talked about before.

Whenever I鈥檓 considering making a purchase of any kind, I simply stop for ten seconds and ask myself whether this is really a worthwhile purchase. Do I actually need this item? Does it cause any sort of fulfillment in my life that isn鈥檛 already achieved by the things I currently own? Could I not put the cost of this item to better use?

I don鈥檛 watch the clock on this or anything 鈥� I just do it for roughly ten seconds or so.

At the end of those ten seconds, if I鈥檓 still convinced that making this purchase is the best idea, then I鈥檒l go ahead and buy it without guilt or remorse.

However, I鈥檝e come to find that the ten second rule frees me from making a lot of unnecessary purchases. By facing the doubts I have about the purchase before I make it, I often end up making the right decision rather than a decision that I鈥檒l regret.

Doesn鈥檛 this eliminate spontaneity? Sure, it does. However, the only time I really want spontaneity that results in me spending money is when I鈥檓 with other people, and when I鈥檓 engaging in a social event, I make up my mind how much I鈥檓 going to spend on that event before I go. Spontaneity when I鈥檓 by myself is mostly just an excuse to spend money on things I don鈥檛 really need.

If you鈥檙e having trouble keeping control over your impulse spending, try practicing the ten second rule. Whenever you鈥檙e tempted, stop for ten seconds and ask yourself whether you鈥檒l regret this purchase in the morning. If you find yourself putting the item back, you鈥檒l end up feeling good about yourself and you鈥檒l still have that money in your pocket.

This post is part of a yearlong series called 鈥�365 Ways to Live Cheap (Revisited),鈥� in which I鈥檓 revisiting the entries from my book 鈥�365 Ways to Live Cheap,鈥� which is available at Amazon and at bookstores everywhere. Images courtesy of Brittany Lynne Photography, the proprietor of which is my 鈥減hotography intern鈥� for this project.