OK. I Overspent.

There are lots of reasons to go shopping on Black Friday.
Some people do it as a fun annual activity with family or friends.
Some people are trying to get those loss leader deals.
Some people want to get their shopping finished so they can enjoy the holiday parties.

What I like to keep in mind is not to overspend by impulse shopping.
There.
I’ve said it.

Sometimes I overspend.

Just yesterday I went to Costco to buy the last bits for our Thanksgiving feast.
And I went rogue.
I went off -list.

I bought a lattice top apple pie.

Now, I know it was only $9.99 (I know! only $9.99!) and I don’t even like pie.
And I have plenty of money.
But it wasn’t a good spend because I bought it for the wrong reason.
I bought it because it was a great deal.

I bought it “just in case”.

Sure, I also rationalized it with the thought that if my Mother-in-law forgot to bring the four pies she is buying I wouldn’t have any dessert for the 13 people coming.

But when I hold that logic up to the light, it is faulty.
First of all, Mama Dot has NEVER forgotten to bring food in her life.  Just the opposite.  I have to keep her from bringing too much food.
And also, uh, I had already purchased a backup pumpkin pie.

My other rationalization was that once Mama Dot saw how I could get incredible pies she wouldn’t feel like she had to bring a bunch of pies for Thanksgiving next year.

But all of these rationalizations are just that. Excuses for my intellectual mind to ok the purchase by my emotional mind.

You impulse shop with your emotional mind and then look for a way to rationalize it with the reasoning part of your brain.

So, here’s what I USUALLY do to figure out on the spot if I am making a good purchase.

I ask myself if I am going off of my plan from a place of scarcity or abundance.
And what I am looking for here is a feeling.
I could say, “I have plenty of money. I am buying from abundance.”  But that’s not what I mean.
Having a lot of money is not a feeling.

What to ask:
Does it make me feel free and expansive to purchase it?
Or am I buying it because I might not be able to get it later?
Again, I’m talking about how you feel, not if you actually could or couldn’t get it later.

Mine was definitely a scarcity purchase.
I actually thought, “I don’t think they sell this pie other times of the year.”
Scarcity!

And I thought, “I don’t want to be caught without enough dessert.”

EVEN THOUGH THERE WILL ALREADY BE A THIRD OF A PIE PER PERSON.

With my purchase there will be half a pie per person,
after they have eaten turkey, ham and 10 sides.

I’d say that’s a big ‘ol scarcity purchase.

I’m not going to beat myself up about it.

But I’m aware.

And awareness is the first step in change.