Everyone says, the sales season begun, let's go shopping, but the question here is, do we really need to shop or are we using the sales just as an excuse to spend money and buy clothes we don't need?
Sales are made to make you buy things you don't need I see some of my friends buying piles of stuff when on sale while saying "I might need it some day!". Well, chances are you won't need it some day and you'll just end up spending money and occupying precious storage space. Don't get me wrong, sales are awesome! But only when you actually need the stuff you're buying. And now something funny. I once saw a couple buying flour that was on sale. They bough lots of it and were stuffing their shopping cart with the stuff. Next door there was another store. The exact same flour was not on sale but still cheaper There, the power of sales!
LOL, so never buy flour on sales! Most people see sales and go crazy with them, while in fact apart from many times we buy things that we don't need, some of those things are even the same price or more expensive than usual because we can't remember the price before the sales.
I pretty much only buy things on sale and I never buy stuff I don't need. I think if you are in the habit of sale-shopping, and you know your family needs (food, clothes, and otherwise), this is truly the best way to shop. I mean, it is April and I have growing children. Most people are shopping for summer clothes right now. But I bought almost everything for them for THIS summer over Labor Day last year... many things on clearance for less than $4. So the current Spring sales, for me, are all about looking for FALL clothes. It is often hit or miss, what sizes and deals I will find, but I have price points in mind and it isn't too difficult to predict their sizes at this point, so I typically just get stuff that is a good deal. I also tend to shop at places where I can make returns any time, so I leave all the tags on and return anything that goes unworn. My philosophy is that if it is cheap, buy a lot, and if I don't use it, take it back. I've seriously cut my kid-clothes budget in half in the last 2 years by doing this. Shoes are a little more difficult, but again, for the right price, I will take a chance on sizes. Food is a little more difficult to shop like this. You have to build up the habit so your pantry and fridge are all lined up on the sale rotation... but again, it's possible, and it is a great way to save money.
I don't really pay attention to clothing sales because if we need something, I just go to the thrift store. We have a pretty decent, modern thrift store so the clothes look reasonably up to date. The only things I buy on sale are groceries and I use coupons for those and buy enough to last until the next sale cycle. I remember when I thought I was saving money by buying clothes and housewares on sale, when I moved and saw how much stuff I actually had, I realized that I didn't really do anything good by buying so many things on sale and I ended up selling most of it on eBay to help pay my moving expenses. Sometimes you have to walk away from a sale and keep your money in the bank. If a $10 item is on sale for $5 and you buy it, you didn't save $5, you spent $5.
I'm always envious when I hear about thrift shops because we don't have them here. That's true, every time we buy we are not saving, in fact we are spending and the question is, did we really need that or we bought it just because it was on sale?
Being on Sale doesn't necessary mean you have to rush to the store, it's just a perfect opportunity to rush to the store. Since prices are discounted, you might find an item or two that will fit your needs today or tomorrow. As for me, I'm not going nuts for sales, but I do check out some of products that are on sale, who knows, maybe there's something I would like to buy for myself or something that I need. But having a sale doesn't really mean you have to buy some stuff, I mean I wouldn't buy a fridge even if its 90% discounted if I don't need one.
Sales are a good deal to everyone, but sometimes it's just an excuse to buy. Even when there aren't sales stores usually have corridors or shelves with items that have big discounts, so there's a good opportunity there all year long.
Does it really matter? People work hard for their money, and they deserve to be happy, and spend it anyway they want. If buying clothes makes them happy. I am all for it. We all by things we don't need, but sometimes it is not about need. Sometimes it is about want. I think this is one of those occasions. We work hard every to to provide ourselves with the lknd of life style we want to live. Some people are extremely in to fashion, and they want to be extremely fashionable. That is what they look forward to in life. So in actuality. They do need those clothes.
I agree, the money is getting spent either way so you might as well spend on something that makes you happier and feeling better with yourself, if it's even on sale on top of that, that's another plus Of course even when things are on sale, do your research and see if it really is cheaper than everywhere else, if it's discounted for 25% but it's cheaper by 30% in another store.... or even if you get a coupon for 50% off elsewhere, it's a much better deal.
It does matter to some people, not to all, but to some people it does matter. Those people are the ones with really low incomes and that cannot afford some small pleasures of life like buying a new shirt or dress for example, the choice between getting it or not might be having or not money to pay rent for example.
In that case the obvious answer is not to buy it. I don't think anyone would pick a new shirt over paying rent, I had thought what you meant was frivolous purchases, things you don't really need, but not with money that is actually going for living expenses, just spending cash.
I don't want to go as extreme as shopping addicts, but sometimes we receive our wage and make we make some purchases we regret at the end of the month, sometimes it's hard to see one month ahead when our bank account seems packed with money.
