9/16/10

Best time to buy it, is when you don't need it

Pressure creates a sense of urgency.  That can be a good thing.  Positive Pressure can force your hand to 'get things done'.
The flip side of that coin is that pressure, real or perceived, can force us to rush and 'just get it done'.  Adding the speedy "just" seems to take away from the quality of the action.

I've recently applied that line of thinking to my shopping and I've found that there is tremendous savings in there...  We all know it, it's not a big secret, but it has not been an active part of my plan.  It should be.  When you take the pressure out of the purchase, you remove the "just", and increase the quality of the decision.

Prices are at a premium when things are in demand the most.  Duh.  But do you actively plan and are you disciplined enough to consistently benefit from this cyclical fact of the marketplace?  I don't. I should do better.

I was in Target yesterday.  I stumbled up the woefully depleted Summer Section.  It looked like they had a "bring in your 3 year old kids to design the section of our store that no one cares about" Day.  Thanks kids!  I got 3 planters ($0.74, .74, .24!) and 6 citronella candles for $1.88.  I need to be looking for other summer items that stores are simply looking to get rid of.


2 Take-away actions for me to improve:

~  I will take the pressure OFF by actively planning and looking OFF-$eason.
~  Every time I walk into a store...  self, "Find the clearance rack."



This isn't anything we don't already know but the key is to make it a habit, part of the plan and eventually what you do instinctively.  That's where the DailySaving is...

How do you make this work for you?

2 comments:

Marilyn Kvasnok said...

Hi Brian,
I learned this lesson years ago. I was preparing for a winter cruise to the Caribbean and decided to shop for cruise clothes. But, summer clothes weren't on sale in January - Winter clothes were! I decided that no one on the cruise had seen my summer wardrobe, so that's what I would pack. And I bought a winter coat that I love, from the clearance rack.

Thanks for adding your link on my Link Love 2010 page. I hope you've paid it forward, visiting other site links and leaving comments where appropriate.

~Marilyn

Daria said...

I LOVE the clearance section - especially at Target. They get to 75% off really quickly and occassionally even go to 90%. I stock up for summer next year right now. It is usually pretty easy to guesstimate what size my kids will be wearing in a year, so it is well worth it to stock up now. My favorites are flip flops to buy this time of year...

Great tip, Brian. And a great way to save $. Online sales are also quite good off - season...