7 Questions to Ask Before Any Purchase Over $100

Part 1 of 4 · 2 minute read

A big purchase is anything that would sting if it turned out to be a mistake. For most people that line sits somewhere around $100. Below it, a bad buy is annoying. Above it, a bad buy is a lesson you keep paying for. These seven questions take about two minutes and catch most of the mistakes before they happen.

1. Would I buy this if it were not on sale?

Discounts create urgency, and urgency is the enemy of good decisions. This question strips the discount away and looks at the thing itself. If the honest answer is no, you are not saving 30 percent. You are spending 70 percent on something you did not want in the first place.

Do this today: look at the sale price on its own, without the crossed-out number next to it. Would you still pay it? If not, close the tab.

2. What will I stop using when this arrives?

Every new thing has a cost in time and space, not just money. A new gadget competes with the gadgets you already own for the same hours in your day. If you cannot name what it replaces, it will probably join the drawer of things that seemed like a good idea at the time.

Do this today: name the thing it replaces. If it replaces nothing, you are adding rather than upgrading, and adding is where clutter and regret come from.