Avoiding spending: It's all about timing.
It's easy to get sidetracked when shopping, and that can lead to overspending. Avoid that trap by setting a time goal.
It's easy to get sidetracked when shopping, and that can lead to overspending. Avoid that trap by setting a time goal.
As I鈥檝e mentioned many times before, when I walk into a bookstore, I can easily get distracted and find myself with my nose in one book or another. I鈥檒l walk in, intending just to spend a few minutes, and find myself an hour later sitting in a reading chair surrounded by books.
I dawdle. I browse. I find interesting new books I just can鈥檛 live without. Often, I鈥檒l leave the store with more books than I ever intended to buy when I went in there.
Obviously, the best strategy for countering this is to聽have a very specific list when I walk in the door.聽In other words, don鈥檛 walk in the door unless you know exactly what you鈥檙e looking for.
That doesn鈥檛 always help, of course. I鈥檒l be in the cookbook section looking for a particular title, stumble upon something interesting, and before I know it, I鈥檓 buying a book I didn鈥檛 plan to buy when I went in there.
Of course, I鈥檝e also noticed that聽if I go into a store with a list and a tight deadline, I tend to dawdle a lot less.聽I head right for the item I need, don鈥檛 stop even if I see interesting things, and try to get out of there quickly.
Of course, you can鈥檛 always shop with a pre-existing deadline鈥� but you can always make your own.
Whenever I find myself walking into a store of any kind, I try to set a 鈥渢ime goal鈥� as I approach the door. I review what I need, figure out roughly how long it will take if I head straight for that item and then get out, and then set a deadline for myself to get back out the door.
How do I 鈥渆nforce鈥� that idea? I try to think about all of the things I have to do that day besides this shopping trip. I think about the things I聽could聽get done if I get out of there quickly.
In other words, I put the idea that I have more important (or better) things to do in the front of my mind. This makes it much easier to stick to my time goal.
Then, when I enter the store, I get down to business. I keep an eye on my watch as I look for the items I need and, since I鈥檓 so conscious of the need to take care of business quickly, I don鈥檛 dawdle.
The end result? I walk out the door with just the items I need and with time to spare, time I can use on something else in my life.