Ever Notice How One Purchase Leads to Another?

Darrin Savage writes for www.thehappyfamily.net. Darrin enjoys helping other families achieve true happiness by applying biblical principles to their daily lives.

My wife and I went without any TV service for about 7 years after our first child was born. We decided that we were spending too much time in front of it and not getting anything healthy from it. There were no easy ways to record the shows you wanted and so you just had to watch what was on.

As a result we didn’t care what kind or size of TV we had. Well, years later, we recently decided it was time to get TV service after realizing how much control you can have over it with DVR service and all.

But guess what? Now that we had TV service we realized how old our TV’s were and how poor their picture quality was. Everyone we knew had flat screen TV’s and now we wanted one too.

But we did good, we held off for quite a while until prices dropped and the timing was right. We bought one of the smaller ones that was a highly rated off-brand to save even more money.

So after not having any TV service for nearly a decade, only having old TVs to watch old movies on, we should be totally content right? I mean, what more could we possible want?

One Thing Leads To Another . . .

Nothing more. Nothing at all . . . except, well, this new TV is such a work of art that it really makes the old TV stand look out of place. And besides, now we have some extra hardware for the Direct TV so we could really use some more room. Yeah, now that I think about it, that’s just what we need, a new TV stand!

Ok. All set. But wait . . . amongst all this visual stimulation we realized something, the sound quality is really not up to par with the visual quality, we need a set of speakers to enhance the audio function of this whole set. Yeah, and maybe a cheap subwoofer too because we could save a little money by buying in a set.

And while we’re at it, we’ve noticed that movies don’t look as good as HD TV programming so let’s start pricing some Blue Ray players. I mean, after all, it doesn’t make sense to have an HD TV and not watch movies in full 1080p, right?

STOP!!!

Ok, the truth is, we actually just bought the TV and didn’t buy any of the above mentioned things and don’t plan to anytime soon. But you see how the progression of spending can get out of hand?

We went nearly 10 years without any good TV equipment, but as soon as we had some, we instantly began wanting more. We realized very quickly that we needed to set limits for ourselves in this category of our lives.

So what can you do in this buy, buy, buy society to stop the spending cycle and keep one purchase from leading to another?

1. Set a Dollar Limit for That Category

Let’s continue to use the TV example. We decided before we went to get a TV how much we were willing to spend and committed to not going over that amount, no matter what. For us that meant only getting the TV and nothing else.

After setting your spending limit for this purchase and committing to it, now the name of the game is finding the best deal. The cheaper you can find a TV that suits your taste, the more you can spend on accessories such as speakers, stands etc . . . .

Just remember, you set a limit and you’re not going over it. If the item you want takes up the whole budgeted amount by itself, be happy with that and don’t allow yourself to begin looking at things that you didn’t budget for.

2. Remember What You Wanted in the First Place

Like in my TV example, when we were without any good TV equipment, we weren’t sitting there thinking about how great it would be to have a 72 plasma with full 1080p resolution, complete stereo surround sound and a $1500 Ethan Allen TV stand. We just wanted something that didn’t hurt our eyes to watch.

If you find yourself getting sucked into the perpetual spending mentality after making an initial purchase, stop, take a breath, and remember what it was you actually wanted in the first place.

Purchase just that and then be happy with it.

3. Make Purchase Decisions at Home, Not at the Store

Retailers have one goal in mind, to get you to buy more junk. That’s it. They are masters of the science of persuading people to buy even if done subtly and indirectly. No matter what they may tell you, sales professionals are not trained to help you save money, they are trained to help you spend money and feel like you are getting a great deal.

If you are at the store buying something and find yourself wanting to buy more than you initially intended on, commit to yourself to go home and think about it first. Just get what you came for, and then leave. It’s that easy.

More often than not, by the time you get home you will have talked yourself out of any additional spending and can simply enjoy what you did come home with.

4. Turn to Scripture for Guidance

But Godliness with contentment is great gain. - 1 Timothy 6:6 NIV

This verse is easy to read but hard to live it. If we will live lives of contentment God tells us we will experience great gain. This doesn’t mean that we just need to be happy with what we have and we will amass big piles things and junk and stuff as a result.

What it means is that in being content with the things we do have we will realize what is really important in life and experience true gain, gain that will not rust or be stolen as mentioned in Matthew 6:20.

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” - Luke 12:15 NIV

Like this verse says, the things we possess are not what this life is all about.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. - Matthew 5:6 NIV

This verse implies that longing for anything other than righteousness will not satisfy you. Endless spending is nothing more than a downward spiral that will never give you true happiness.

There’s nothing wrong with spending a portion of our money on things we enjoy, but it is easy to let ourselves get out of control in the process. Hopefully these points will help you keep “progressive spending” from becoming a problem in your life.