Practice the Pause Prior to Making a Purchase

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Have you ever bought something on a whim that sounded like a good idea in the moment, only later to find out it wasn’t quite what you were looking for?

Early in our lives, my wife and I had a penchant for purchasing exercise equipment. Back then we thought that instead of buying a gym membership, we could purchase a few pieces of home gym equipment and workout from home.

The idea was ok in theory and we still use some of the equipment we purchased, but the first piece of equipment we purchased, an expensive elliptical, very rarely got used.

If we had practiced the pause prior to making our home gym equipment purchase, we most likely would have realized that the equipment in question wasn’t right for our planned workouts and either bought a better fit or foregone the purchase altogether.

Table of Contents

Benefits of Practicing the Pause Prior to Making a Purchase

Practicing a pause before you spend money facilitates:

Saving Money – practicing a pause should lead to more intentional purchases. This means less purchases overall. Also, when you do make a purchase, it’s actually something you need and will use moving forward as well as being the best value.
Limiting your Impulse Purchases – when you have some time to think about what you’re purchasing and why, you’ll be able to discern the items that you truly need and find the alternative that provides the best value.
Avoiding Buyer’s Remorse – this goes hand-in-hand with impulse purchases. When you haven’t taken the time to research the purchase properly, you don’t know if it truly meets your wants/needs or if you’re paying the right price.
Breaking the Habit of Emotional Shopping – by practicing a pause, you’re giving yourself time to consider if how you feel at the time is influencing your decision. For instance, if your neighbor across the street just bought a brand new Big Green Egg (outdoor grill), you may feel strongly inclined to make a similar purchase after going to a cookout and seeing it in action. However, after taking a moment to consider it, you realize that you very rarely grill out, can’t afford something that expensive at this time, already have a perfectly good grill, and was partially attracted to the grill just because your neighbor owned one. After thinking about it, you opt to continue using the grill you have.
Freeing up Time – guilt from spending can cause us to purposely use items that we bought and maintain them, even if we don’t want to, to justify the purchase. This can mean spending extra time on an item you don’t even really want or need, just because of a past mistake. If you practice the pause and only purchase items you want/need and that are the best value, it should lead to less purchases and less time spent on those purchases.

How to Practice the Pause Prior to Making a Purchase

To start, it’s best to establish a rule of thumb for how long to practice a pause for different purchases.

For me personally, I try to pause for at least 24hrs before making any purchasing decisions that I’m unsure about (i.e. isn’t necessarily a need or hasn’t already been thoroughly vetted). I typically do this for things like buying a new movie or book, purchasing shares of stock, etc.

For larger purchases (>$100), I typically try to wait anywhere between 7 days to a month before making a decision.

What to Consider While Practicing the Pause

While you’re practicing the pause, you should consider the following:

Does the purchase align with my values? – for instance, my father and father-in-law are heavy smokers and have health consequences associated with smoking. Because of this, when I’m considering investing, I try to stay clear of investing in companies that produce and promote the use of tobacco.
Do you really need the item? – take a minute to consider why you want or need this item. Will it make your life easier? Safer? Better in any way? Does it help you get closer to your financial goals?
Consider how much it costs in hours worked – a different way to look at the purchase is to convert the purchase into how many hours you need to work to purchase it. To start, calculate your real hourly wage and divide the purchase by your hourly wage. Is that new item really worth # hours of your life?
Perform research –
- What do people in your network have to say about the product?
- What about online reviews?
- Are there any product defects or warranty issues?
- Is there a more affordable alternative?
- Are there discount codes or promo codes you can use to reduce the price?
- Can you buy it used or open-box?
- Can you make it for cheap?
Consider what happened by not purchasing the item – identify how your life feels without the item. Do you still have a problem that needs solving?
Consider how the item would have helped you – Is there something missing in your day-to-day that could be alleviated by the item? If so, would it completely solve the problem? Is there something that would? Is there a better alternative to making the purchase that would accomplish the same goal?
Re-evaluate your purchase decision and make a decision – Once you’ve come to the end of your pause and taken into consideration all of the items above, it’s time to make a decision. Use all of the information you’ve amassed to decide whether the purchase is worthwhile for you.