Today’s Mucho Moolah tip is simple but effective: Look, but don’t touch! All too often, when we go shopping, even if we tell ourselves that we’re only window shopping (a difficult task for most people), we still end up buying things. Why is that? Well, it’s because when we look at things, we want to touch them as well. The retailers know this about us, since they have paid big bucks to do research on how and why consumers spend money, and they not only have figured out that putting a sweater, for example, on a table is inviting, they know that if you pick it up, you’re more likely to buy it! Not only that, but the longer you hold onto the item, or carry it around with you, the more your sense of ownership has increased, making you even more likely to buy it! Whew, have they got us figured out or what?
So, keep our advice in mind, and don’t touch it! If you’re the type of person to go out for “retail therapy” (do NOT get me started on how much I loathe that phrase, and what it implies), then you need to find something to do with your hands. Put them in your pocket, carry a big bag in your hands, text etc. Finding something to do with your hands could save you a lot of money over the course of the month, because every time you see a $200 and don’t buy it, that’s $200 in your pocket for something else, which I hope will be savings!
Tags: accountability, Frugality, Personal responsibility, saving money
