Quick Tips: Ideas to Walk Away & Save

Here are some quick tips, which may help put purchasing decisions into perspective:

* If you find something you want to buy and can’t live without, walk away from the purchase. If you still desperately want it 24 hours, have thought through whether you can afford it, if it’s for a good price, etc – then go back and purchase it. But if you’ve already forgotten about it, then you have your answer. This goes for a $2 checkout register purchase or a $300 clothing purchase.
* Freeze your credit card in a bucket of water. If by the time the credit card is completely and naturally thawed out (no cheating here), then you can get it. This is your “cool-down” period.
* Bring a fiscally conservative family member to help you shop. They will tell you the honest truth: whether that outfit really looks good on you – or if it’s a waste of money.
* Stick to a shopping list, and don’t waste time browsing! And, as my boss currently reminded me, use coupons!
* Limit your exposure to advertising. Scientific studies have shown that the more we’re exposed to advertising – whether it be on TV, in magazines, etc – the more likely we are to buy.
* Start an internet wish list by saving the URLs of the items that you would love to buy. If you use the book-marked pages, then you won’t forget the items you desperately want even if it takes you two or four weeks to save up the money for the purchase. (And quite honestly, if you do forget about the purchase, then I think you’ve already answered your own question about whether you really wanted it…)
* Collect your spare change or start an electronic savings account that pulls a small amount from your checking every week. Use that money as a “fun” account. Anything goes, but once the money is gone, you have to start saving again to make that next purchase

With this in mind, you can stick to your spending plan. I used to tell my college students, “If you can learn to manage a $500, you can manage $5 million”. It worked for Warren Buffet and it can work for you. Learn to manage what you have now and as more is given to you, you will have the knowledge and skills to manage the larger income.

The habits you create now, whether you are a struggling college student or a newly minted graduate, will be the habits that remain with you throughout your life As one of my favorite mentors says, “It’s not how much money you make, it’s how much money you keep.”