Mind the sale.
March 23, 2007
I was shopping once and watched a woman holding up a dress for her man to check out. “What do you think honey?” she asked. “It’s ugly, babe,” he answered. “Yeah, but it’s 50% off!” She defended. “Yeah,” he said patiently. “But it’s ugly.”
This, ladies and gentlemen, aptly illustrates the Curse of the Sale. Oh, the seduction. The deal, the dollars. Retail victory? Or retail folly?
Money is a form of energy and who wants to waste it? Frugality can be power, to be sure, but you only win when you get great value for your money, AND great value for your life. Buying something at full price that will always give you pleasure is a great return on your investment — as opposed to a dozen “what was I thinking?” discounts.
THIS WEEK or ANY WEEK:
Conduct a sensual and aesthetic experiment. {NOTE: This exercise should not cost you a dime.} Go clothes or jewellery shopping with your senses in the lead. Pick out what attracts you. Try a few things on. DO NOT LOOK AT THE PRICE TAGS.
When you’re clear on what you’d ideally like to have, then, and only then, look at the price. Walk away if you can’t afford it. Buy only what you absolutely love. We venture to guess that if you shopped this way all of the time, you’d not only save money in the long run, you’d have a plenty of good looks and feelings to show for it.
March 23, 2007 at 6:08 pm
There’s a Chinese saying:
“Buy the best. Cry once.”
So true.
April 1, 2007 at 8:17 pm
My stepmother once taught me not to look at the initial cost but the “price per use”…which is less expensive: a $50 sweater you’ll wear 5 times, or a $200 sweater you’ll wear 100 times? The cheaper sweater turns out to be $10 per wearing, where the cashmere one you really want is only $2 per wearing. It has helped save me from an over-full closet and a feeling of needing to keep shopping to find the thing I REALLY want.
April 29, 2007 at 5:02 am
This concept was quite foreign to me prior to living six years in Dublin. Although the Irish aren’t particularly known for their fashion, they wouldn’t blink to drop $100 on a shirt while still at university. It might be the only shirt they bought for a year, but it would be well made, well cut, and suit the wearer. This philosophy makes SO MUCH SENSE.