10 Tricks You Can Use To Save Money When shopping
To arm against the big stores while
shopping, you must know all the tricks businesses use to entice you to spend
too much on an item or buy more things than you needed. You must understand
their effects on you. When you recognize them, it's easier for you to resist
these commercial assaults on your senses. You'll appreciate the psychology
behind spending and saving. You'll be able to shop and walk out, most of your
money intact, like a champ.
10 Tricks To Help You Save
Money When Shopping
1. Do not shop with credit
cards
An MIT research published in 2001 in
Marketing Letters revealed that shoppers spend up to 100% more when they shop
with their credit card instead of cash.
Credit cards, when responsibly used, offer
you plenty of travel and cash rewards. But when it comes to shopping, credit
card use encourages you to overspend and often sabotages your budget. The
reason is simple. It's easier to spend more with plastic because the pleasure
of the purchase is felt instantly rather than the pain of handing over your
hard-earned cash, which isn't evident at the moment. Again, going out with a
limited amount of cash forces you to spend only to the limit you can pay for.
With a card, your spending limit may not matter that much.
2. Use newer bills
Before you hit the stores, without your
credit cards, only carry along old money. According to a 2012 study in the
Journal of consumer research, people prefer newer crispier cash to shabbier
jaded bills. So, they are more inclined to spend the dirtier notes.
Participants in the study spent more money when they had old dollar notes than
when they had newer ones.
3. Avoid becoming friends with
the shop staff
It's human nature to reciprocate kind
gestures. The more you joke and laugh with the store staff, the more likely you
are to buy more stuff from them. That is why most of them are always eager to
help. You won't want to disappoint such a friendly helpful person. You can show
off your grumpy side but not too much.
4. Wear high heels when
shopping
This one is a bit strange, but it's
actually backed by science. Researchers from the Brigham Young University
observed that when shoppers' minds are focused on keeping their balance, they
tend to choose a mid-range item instead of a costlier or a lower-quality one.
They also observed the same effect in participants after they rode on an
elevator or after a yoga class. Note that this strategy may not work as well if
you're a man.
5. Stop and pause mindfully
You may feel a dopamine rush when you see
a coveted item at 85% off And you don't have to be a shopaholic. Our brains are
wired to need instant gratification when faced with alluring merchandise at
fantastic prices. We just continue filling up the shopping cart unrestrained.
Amid all that good feeling, take timeout occasionally to stop and question your
decisions. Ask yourself, how do I feel? Do I need this now? Does it fit into my
budget? Can I wait? Where will I keep it? After the self-examination, you'll
find out that your mindless rush has somewhat slowed and you can see the item
in a new light. Then only complete the purchase if it's something you genuinely
need.
6. Thinks of prices in terms
of the hours of work put in
You may not think much about dropping
$1000 for the latest iPhone until you reason the number of hours of work you
have to put in to earn a thousand bucks. Say you make $20 an hour, upgrading to
the latest shiny device will cost you 50 hours of labor and sweat. It's no
longer such an excellent idea, right? When you look at your purchases like an
economist, you will see them in a different light and won't readily part with
cash.
7. Reduce the number of shops
you visit
When you go shop hopping, it feels like
you're saving money by hunting for the best deals. But the more stores you
visit, the more you'll tend to spend. You think you ought to reward yourself
for your time and effort.
8. Listen to music while you
shop
Big retailers are adept in the art of
turning consumers to spendthrifts, and one of their more insidious tricks is to
play slow music. As you unconsciously slow your walking pace to fall in line
with soft sounds, you'll tend to see more products and tend to buy more as
well. You can liberate yourself from this particular subtle manipulation by
bringing your own music. Something with a fast tempo delivered through
headphones to help you zoom through the store and out in no time, and spare
your wallet in the process. Extra bonus if you play Macklemore's thrift shop.
9. Suck on mint while shopping
Sound is not only the sensory weapon
retailers employ in their vast arsenal of psychological tricks. Studies have
shown that introducing fragrance into a store increases purchases by 80%.
Retail companies artificially introduce smells to create a more hospitable
environment that encourages visitors to stay and open their wallets. Even
worse, pumping out a particular fragrance, say a coffee-like smell, increased
the sales of the beverage by over 300%. You should help yourself by sucking on
a piece of mint while shopping. Mint effectively blocks your sense of smell and
protects you from the scent of attraction and impulse buying.
10. Don't open a tab
Opening a tab at a bar or restaurant is a
license to order drinks and food without much qualms about the costs. The
reason is this, when you don't pay immediately for a round of drinks, you won't
feel any pains which make it easier for you to order for the next and the next.
But once you pay for that first round, the pain of parting with cash will make you
think twice about ordering more.
In conclusion, changing habits may take a
lot of time, but small changes consistently followed will help you drop bad
spending habits and pick up good saving habits. You can start with the 10 tips
above to gain more control over your spending habit and save towards a better
financial future, all without having to make the shopping experience any less
pleasurable.
