The easiest way to save money? Don't go in!
The other day, I stopped at a gas station with my children in tow.
Ordinarily, this would be a simple visit 鈥� I鈥檇 gas up, pay at the pump, jump back in, and we鈥檇 be on the road again.
That day, though, my youngest one announced very loudly that聽he had to go to the potty聽now.听
He鈥檚 three. Potty training is complete, but he can still have an occasional accident if he鈥檚 put in a position where he has to hold it for very long.
So, when he made that big announcement, it became clear that we had to go inside. I鈥檓 not going to leave my other children in the car alone, so we all went inside.
Once the bathroom business was taken care of, we walked back through the convenience store. Naturally, the bathrooms are on the far end of it, so we walked back by the beverage coolers.
Immediately, my children were thirsty. They were incredibly thirsty. Based on their comments, they had just spent several days in the Sahara desert.
They wouldn鈥檛 have said a thing if we were on the road. The sight of the beverages convince them that they were thirsty.
Of course, some delicious-looking snacks convince them that they were hungry, too, but I managed to push that desire off by mentioning that there was food already in the car.
Still, I wound up buying a small beverage for each of them and a large cup of water for myself (as that was the cheapest way to get water, via a large fountain drink).
The bill was still $5.50.
Now, I don鈥檛 mind the high price of a convenience store. The place has to make money, after all.
What I do mind is that聽I had to go into the store at all.
If I had never walked into that gas station, I never would have spent that $5.50. I should have just gassed up and headed to a rest stop that was about five miles further down the interstate which had clean bathrooms and a vending machine that I wouldn鈥檛 have had the cash to use.
Every time I needlessly spend money, it鈥檚 because I went into a store in the first place.
I can鈥檛 spend money needlessly on books if I don鈥檛 go into a book store.
I can鈥檛 spend money needlessly on electronics if I don鈥檛 go into an electronics store.
I can鈥檛 spend money needlessly on coffee if I don鈥檛 go into a coffee shop.
If I want less incidental spending in my life, the best way to do it is to avoid places where I鈥檓 going to be spending money incidentally.
The only stores that I should be ducking my head into are the ones where I have a specific need to go there, with a list already in hand that I can stick to.
Aside from that,聽I just don鈥檛 go in.
It鈥檚 a simple rule. The kind I like best.
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