My earliest experience of buyer’s remorse actually happened as a result of a purchase I made during my childhood. The Nintendo Entertainment System came out in the mid-1980’s and it cost $150 when it was first released. Since I was in elementary school when it came out, I didn’t have many sources of income aside from allowance money and birthday money, so spending over $100 on one item was a big decision. However, I was sure I would love it and it would be money well spent! When I finally bought the gaming system and got it set up at home, I began to feel like maybe I had made a bad decision. I remember asking my parents if they thought I could return it even though it was already open. Thankfully, I was able to take back the NES for a refund.
While I was fortunate that a refund was an option, I still learned a very important lesson. It’s easy to overestimate how much joy things will bring us and there are times when a purchase can lead to buyer’s remorse.
Unfortunately I can’t say I have never experienced buyer’s remorse as an adult, but I do find that asking myself a few questions before making a purchase helps me reduce the likelihood of regretting my spending decisions.
Do I need it?
If I don’t need it, do I actually want it?
How often would I use it? (If only once or not often, could I borrow it?)
Can I pay cash for it?
Is it worth the number of hours of work it will cost me?
Will I still need/want this tomorrow (or next week, next month, etc.)?
Is there a better use for this money?
In hindsight, the reason the NES was a bad purchase for me at the time was that I really didn’t love playing video games enough to part with that amount of money. I’m sure plenty of people purchased the NES with zero buyer’s remorse. Maybe they used a smaller percentage of their savings to purchase it or maybe they really loved playing video games so it was worth the cost to them.
This is a simple example of why it’s so important to slow down and ask ourselves questions before buying something…what may be a great purchase for one person might trigger buyer’s remorse for another.
Comments