June 2009, a heat wave hit Toronto. At the same time, the old air conditioner in my parents’ house broke down. With any large home issue, it requires research and patience to form an educated plan. My parents didn’t know how long it would take to resolve.
While we baked inside the house, a new video game called Prototype was released for the Xbox 360. As a 16-year-old with a limited budget, nothing mattered more. I don’t know how, but the idea of buying a window air conditioning unit came to mind. A small unit would transform my sauna-like bedroom into an iced oasis.
After endless internal debates about what to buy, I bought the air conditioning unit. When my dad and I returned from Home Depot, we installed it in my room. I immediately knew I made the right decision. For the rest of the summer, I played my existing games in the comfort of my cool bedroom.
The difficult decision, in hindsight, wasn’t very difficult at all. The air conditioning unit satisfied a long-standing need and overruled a frivolous want. Before buying anything, we may stop and think if we can afford it, do we need it, or if we should wait. But sometimes, we don’t even think. We buy on impulse.
Is It a Need or Want?
The easiest assessment exercise for any purchase involves two simple categories: needs or wants. If a hole in the bottom of your shoe lets water in and soaks your socks, you need new shoes. If your shoe rack is so full you started piling shoes in your closet, you don’t need new shoes.
Before buying anything, a good habit is to pause and reflect on the purchase. Imagine how your life changes afterward. Does it change? After my air conditioner purchase, I slept better every night, played more games in comfort, and left my house full of energy. Because my environment improved, my day improved as well.
I recall dozens of moments when I bought new clothes, games, or books, only to not touch them for several months. The excitement of spending money, the dopamine from opening a new package, provided more satisfaction than the object itself. What a wasteful endeavor.
Instead, I should have saved my money and spent the time reading one of those books or playing one of those games. It sounds simple, but avoiding stores also prevents impulse purchases. Many people at a mall may leave with something new. Many people browsing a website product catalog will put something into their digital cart.
If your store avoidance failed, recall a purchase where its value exceeded the price. I bet during that moment you said something like, “This was totally worth the money!” Several purchases fit into that category for me, and so I try to imagine that feeling before buying anything. Most of the time, I walk away from that item.
Over a decade later, I still haven’t played Prototype.
Money Method Tip: Before any purchase, ask yourself: will it still be worth it a month from now?
