Confusing Saving With Spending
By Lynn Proctor
@ThankyouLord (698)
St. Petersburg, Florida
November 9, 2015 7:02pm CST
I believe that there are some people who have been brainwashed by industry and ads so deeply that they no longer can emotionally (key word, here) tell the difference between spending and saving.
Sometimes, if I am confronted with all kinds of bargains, I think about how much money I will save if I buy a lot of those bargains. So, I spend a lot of money, and happily trot to my car, toting all my "savings". But confusingly enough, at the end of the month I cannot figure out why all my money is gone, because all month I was very careful to find "bargains," and therefore I should have saved a lot of money. So where is all the money I "saved"?
I know people who will fill their house with tons of things they do not need, and mostly do not want. But the pull of a bargain was just too much. One of the most addictive programs I ever saw was QVC. I was hooked on that show, and bought a ton of jewelry many years ago. It is all sitting in my jewelry box, and I could not tell you now which are real rubies and which are junk. That show is designed to make your blood pressure rise as the clock ticks down on their latest deals. Do they still have the clock going? I don't have a TV, so don't know.
Any program or sale that is time limited is designed to make you feel pressured to buy, buy, buy, before the clock runs out and you are forever going to suffer for not taking advantage of a once in a lifetime bargain. Gotcha!
Saving means keeping money you otherwise would have spent. If I go buy toilet paper for $4.00 because it is on sale, I will save a buck or two as I normally pay full price at this same store. But I need toilet paper. I don't need my fifth bottle of shampoo just because it, also, is on sale. If I already have two vacuum cleaners, but one is clogged up, do I really need to buy another one? No, I need to declog the one I have, so I will have two working vacuum cleaners. I do not save money by justifying that taking the cleaner into a shop for unclogging would cost me just as much, so I might as well get a new one. Rather, I need to find out where the clog is myself, and fix it. Voila! A brand new vacuum cleaner. Did I just "save" money? No, I just didn't spend it. There is a difference.
We can't save money on a lower price if we would not pay the higher price. Like the toilet paper. "Save money on......" is a favorite ad script. It has had the effect of turning our minds to mush when it comes to judgement over the difference between saving and spending.
Rule of thumb: If you have to take money out of your wallet to buy something you really don't need, you are spending, you are not saving, no matter how great the deal is.
15 people like this
15 responses
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Nov 15
Great post! This is SO true. I wish my son could read this. Some young people (not that my son is that young any more) cannot seem to go without anything. Instant gratification is what they seek. And it isn't only the young that get hooked into bargains.
3 people like this
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
10 Nov 15
I visit the elderly in their homes, and they often watch a lot of television. Sometimes I see a lot of things stacked up that they have ordered and never use. It's entertainment for them, and it hurts my heart. But they often cannot get out, and that is their "fun." For young people, instant gratification is the word of the day. I think that modern computers and phones "train" us to expect instant results on just about everything.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Nov 15
@ThankyouLord I remember someone defending poor people who had or bought TVs simply because that was the entertainment they could afford. I hadn't thought about the situation from that point of view. I was reminded by your 'it's entertainment for them.
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
10 Nov 15
See, that is why I do not do couponing much. The coupons are usually for things I do not use or I use the generic or store brand. The exception is coupons from my regular store for things that may just be store brand.
3 people like this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
10 Nov 15
That's pretty much why I don't bother with coupons. Save 20 cents on 2 boxes of name brand cereal when I generally buy generic which is $1.00 or more cheaper per box... by getting generic I'm saving at least $2.00 on 2 boxes. Seems silly to use a coupon, and then you have to spend money to get the coupons, you have to buy the paper or print the coupon and waste paper and ink which isn't cheap.
2 people like this
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
10 Nov 15
I used to love coupons, but now they are not worth it. Even with coupons, you have to pay the tax on the full price, before they take off for the coupon. So, if a tube of toothpaste is $2.00 and you have $1.00 off, in my state, at .7 tax, you are spending an extra .14 for the coupon. So you are only saving .86, not a dollar.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
10 Nov 15
@ThankyouLord That's still a good savings if it's the type of toothpaste you'd buy anyway. I just go with whatever is cheapest and there usually aren't coupons for that unless you buy 2. I have no desire to buy 2 as i don't have the storage space and my kids are wasteful. By only getting 1 they won't waste it as quickly as if they knew they had a whole other tube to use.
1 person likes this
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
11 Nov 15
@katsmeow1213 I think using less of everything, as well as buying less of everything helps us stay clear about keeping more of our money for an emergency or for a more designated purpose, like education, or a needed car.
@scheng1 (24649)
• Singapore
10 Nov 15
Glad that you realize this.
I always get into a quarrel with my mother because she just does not get it.
She has a lot of fanciful handbags that are not meant for practical use, and she just keeps on buying whenever there is a sale.
She thinks that she saves $50 when the price is reduced by this amount.
I tell her that she is wasting money because she buys handbags that she uses just once a year.
2 people like this
@scheng1 (24649)
• Singapore
11 Nov 15
@ThankyouLord Most people do not seem to realize that handbags look nice when display in the shop.
It will not look nice when we bring it home, and leave it in the cupboard.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502189)
• Italy
11 Nov 15
@ThankyouLord The big companies get us with their special promotions and savings, they make us think we are "saving" money.
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
11 Nov 15
Someone who really gets it! It's a very clever marketing tool. Whoever thought it up was a genius. "But I cannot afford that. I have to save my money." "Oh, my dear, you ARE saving, because the normal price is twice what our price is today." "Oh, well, then, in that case, I see that I am saving all that money. I can save and buy what I like too, then!" And that little trick has profited industry unimaginatively.
1 person likes this
@lokisdad (4226)
• United States
10 Nov 15
The QVC channel is definitely designed to make you spend money it is highly addictive just like gambling you can't seem to pull yourself away until it is already too late. I luckily don't have that problem we don't watch that channel and I think we get more joy from actually going and doing physical shopping.
2 people like this
@lokisdad (4226)
• United States
11 Nov 15
@thankyoulord t They get you in your comfort zone.At home where you're relaxed so you spend more.
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
11 Nov 15
It's almost like an auction, but they build value so well. It really is amazing how they just get you where you live.
1 person likes this
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
11 Nov 15
They make you feel that you are missing the deal of a lifetime!
@jstory07 (148720)
• Roseburg, Oregon
10 Nov 15
I wait for items to go on sale and than if I have coupons for those sale items I save even more money.
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
11 Nov 15
@TheHorse Well, the idea of focused saving and spending on something you really want is better than throwing money away on impulse buys. And having items you can resell if you get into a really bad pinch gives you a bit of fall back "savings." At least you are getting something you really want and hopefully would use.
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
11 Nov 15
Try to convince them of that! They will tell you what a deal they are getting. And therein is the confusion.
@softbabe44 (5815)
• Vancouver, Washington
10 Nov 15
It can take more money to get the bargins then we actually thought their the money we saved.
2 people like this
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
11 Nov 15
That's right. I wish coupons were as good as they used to be.
@antonbunot (11146)
• Calgary, Alberta
12 Nov 15
This is where my wife and I differ. . I go to the mall to buy what I need really bad. My wife goes to the mall to look what she can buy! LOL By the way, HI, @LynProctor! It's me, Julito! I have been here for the last 3 weeks already! And I'm loving it! Thanks for mentioning it to me in BB!
@PainsOnSlate (21845)
• Canada
12 Nov 15
That is very interesting. My hubby and I learned when we were very young how to throw money away and it got us in trouble. We cut up our credit cards, got them paid off and never spend a penny on anything that we don't "need". I'm glad we learned that lesson almost 50 years ago because today we are happy, healthy and money is not a problem. If we don't need it, we don't by it.
1 person likes this
@Kazemononoke (248)
• United States
10 Nov 15
I like to laugh at "clearance" items that are down to 100 dollars instead of 135. I took a Dave Ramsey course and he suggested keeping "spending money" in your wallet. He said it physically makes you reallize it is actual money and not just a swipe of the card.
1 person likes this
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
11 Nov 15
I listen to Dave Ramsey a lot on the radio. He has some good points. His system works for couples who are bringing in more money, but misses the singles who are struggling. "We're debt free!" is only impressive in my mind if you are bringing in less than $50,000 before taxes and are burdened with credit card debt.It's the wealthy who lost track of themselves in the money bath who are able to use that system.
