Maybe this is a good problem to have, but shopping is more of a chore for me than something fun to do. I’m also a pretty frugal person. For those reasons, it’s pretty hard for me to make big purchases, like furniture or even nicer clothing.
I go to the store, I look at the options and none of them seem exactly perfect, I think about how I could just keep the money for something else, I go home without buying anything. Then it takes a long time before I get up the energy to try again. But once I actually buy the thing, I’m happy and wish I had gotten it sooner.
As an example, I moved about nine months ago and need a couple of arm chairs for my new place. I’ve gone to a few stores, but every time the same pattern repeats itself, and I don’t buy anything. It’s been months! I’m sure I’ll be happy once I have the chairs though.
I don’t have trouble spending money at restaurants or on experiences – those things are fun to me, so I don’t mind spending the money. So, how do I get myself to make big purchases when I don’t find shopping fun?
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This is the way. For larger purchases I will actually make spreadsheets, I list the features along the x axis and the products down the Y axis then assign a number 1-3 in each feature then sum and toss all but the top few. Once I have fewer options the choice os usually pretty easy.
For clothing the problem is harder. I’ll make a shopping list with no more than 3 items. Then I only look at items on my list and only buy the one that fits and looks best. For clothing pricing can be tricky for me. As I have gotten older I have come to realize that MSRP is NOT a strong indicator for quality, but certain brands do cost more AND last.