Controlling urgent purchase desires to buy something we really, really want, something that we have been dreaming about for days, weeks, even months is not easy. Not even a teeny-tiny pleasure. It will be hard on us not to spoil ourselves even a little when daily life is so tough.
Imagine that there was a very young boy who constantly, but politely, asked his father to buy something for him. It could have been anything as cheap as a lollipop, cool bike, or as expensive as a new Apple computer.
Every time when the boy asked his father that same question ‘Daddy, could you please buy that for me?’, the father firmly refused his son’s polite request.
The father crashed his son’s purchase desire in a nutshell. Because when you are 5, 10 or 15-years-old, you probably do not have enough savings on your own to afford what you really dream about. And you have to let go not matter, if you want or not.
Because of not having his own money, the boy had to financially depend on someone else. He had a chance to collect pocket money from parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts from time to time. The boy was not financially free even though he really wanted to be.
Throughout his childhood, getting negative answers from his father every time he repeated the question ‘Daddy, could you please buy that for me?’ was rough. It was not easy to let go his dreams of licking that sweet lollipop, riding the fastest bike in the neighborhood or using the coolest Apple computer.
But the boy’s father had a different agenda (…)
Instead of fulfilling his son’s request every time the boy had asked for something materialistic, his father encouraged the boy to go out and earn money by himself. The father recommended that to get some extra cash, the boy could help neighbors with mowing the lawn on Saturdays, washing their cars or doing simple gardening.
What the father really wanted for the boy was to make his son realize that in order to buy something that the boy wanted really badly, putting effort was required. The buy learned the hard lesson that, if you want to own something in your life, you have to spend not only your valuable time but also energy.
The boy’s urges to own his favorite things did not matter to the father. What mattered more was to educate his son to do the right thing.
So, one day, when the boy grows up, he will thank his father who educated him at such a young age how to control consumption urges and be more mindful in life.
What if the boy had already had enough pocket money?
But what if boy had had enough savings in his piggy bank or bank account? Maybe his grandma gave him some cash as a birthday gift, or he was receiving some pocket money from his parents for a considerate period of time.
Would have the boy spend everything he had just to purchase that thing he had dreamed about? Would have the boy bought something just to show off in front of his classmates just to feel better for a moment?
I think that the reasonable thing that the boy could have done would be not to spend all his money on fulfilling one or two purchase desires. Maybe one day in the future, if the boy had enough money, he could decide about his own life, all by himself.
How great would it be to be financially independent?!
How to control your purchase desires?
Way No. 1:
Before going shopping, always think twice whether you really need to buy something new. Maybe the old thing that you have at home can still be used or fixed.
If you cannot survive without buying that new thing, wait a day or two. Waiting will help you to realize, if you really cannot live without the item you intend to buy. If you really cannot, then buy it.
But if, in the meantime, you realize that your intention to purchase was only a temporary urge, let go and do not make purchase.
Way No. 2:
Another good way to control your purchase desires is that when you are inside the shop, think silently how many hours or days you need to work in order to pay the price.
It will help you realize how valuable the product is and how much effort is required to purchase it. You can recall the young boy when his father asked him to help neighbors during summer vacations in order to earn extra pocket money. It was not easy for the boy to mow the neighbors’ lawns, wash their cars or do gardening. It might not be easy for you either.
Those two ways to control purchase desires work very well for me. Thanks to waiting a day or two and converting the prices into work days, I have successfully learned how to eliminate buying unnecessary stuff, therefore could reduce my monthly expenses.
In this way, your savings will skyrocket.
