Why You Should Make a List and NEVER Buy for 30 Days: Frugal Fridays

There’s an obvious difference between needs and wants. There are very few items we NEED in life but with the advent of “easy money” via credit cards and debit cards, wants have surely become equivalent to needs.

I’ll admit it, there are plenty of items I felt I needed, especially when it comes to my preps. These days since we’re super tight on money that “wants turned needs” list has all but evaporated! For the rest of you fine folks out there who can afford to make your wants become needs, may I make a simple suggestion…

Instead of surfing Amazon, eBay, or wherever you like to purchase your goodies and buying whatever you like when you like, choose to make a list and vow–yes, that’s the hard part–to NEVER purchase anything unless it’s (1) on that list and (2) past 30 days since you wrote it down.

This goes for anything that’s not a normal purchase like groceries or an unexpected vehicle repair. Instead, it’s about all those extras you might choose to purchase, from new clothes and shoes to more ammo (can that be an exception?) and a new tent for your upcoming camping trip. All of it. Yes, I said ALL of it! And the same goes for your spouse too.

It’s a really simple strategy

Get out a sheet of paper (or start an Excel worksheet) and start writing down those items that you would have purchased starting NOW and be sure to include a date.

Then, periodically review that list and when you’ve noticed that 30 days has elapsed on whatever it is that you wrote down, re-evaluate that choice and if it still makes sense then you can buy.

If not and you found you really didn’t need [fill in the blank] then scratch it off the list and pat yourself on the back for having saved some money. Better yet, send me half of what you saved for giving you this wonderful lifelong gift as my reward money. 🙂

That’s it. Keep a running tally and see how it goes.

About the only time where I see this strategy not working out so well if for special sale items, clearance deals, seasonal sales, and the like. You’ll have to make the call as to whether you add a sale item to the list or instead choose to purchase it but I can say that if you haven’t needed that sale item until now, do you really need it now? Perhaps not.