Thrifty Living: 15 Second Rule of Shopping + 7 Questions to Ask Yourself

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Approaching the holidays always lends itself to more expenses - food, gifts, decorations, activities and more.

Most of us just want breathing room.  (I'll explain breathing room in a later post)

Now is a good time to learn what I call the 15 second rule.

I'm not talking about food fell on the floor and you have 15 seconds to get it and blow it off.

Actually that's just 5 seconds.

So what am I talking about?

When you're racing through the store with or without coupons and you grab a product and throw it in the cart and race on to the next item you may be dwindling your budget quicker than you think.

Start applying the 15 second rule to every thing you grab.  (Even if it's free you're still paying tax on it)

In the 15 seconds ask yourself these questions:

1.  Why am I buying it?

2.  How often will it be used?

3.  How quickly will I use it?

4.  Can I wait until I have more money?

5.  Is it a good deal?

6.  Will this deal come back with frequency?

7.  Is there something else I need instead?

You can adjust these to the situation but the main thing is to start thinking about everything you toss in the buggy.



'WHY AM I BUYING THIS?' IS ALWAYS A GREAT QUESTION TO STOP AND SAY EITHER TO YOURSELF OR OUT LOUD!
MORE THRIFTY TIPS -

This morning I aske

living tips and here's what they wrote:

Tonya Rocha-Buzbee Even if you're in a hurry, take the extra few minutes to cruise the clearance racks! That's how I found my daughter's swimsuit for next season--Dollar General in Leeds--$1.00!

Denise Kamerer Shopping thrift stores and yard sales. Amazing how many brand new items you can find with tags still on them.

April M. Perry Consigment sales for my growing son's clothes, and I use store bags as trash bags in my small trash cans.

Brynna Councell Schiller Simply avoiding stores. If I don't go in or read the ads, I don't see stuff I 'gotta have' & when it does come time to buy something, I can afford to buy whatever I want with all the bells & whistles. My daddy always got angry with my 'thrifty' mom for penny, nickel, & dime savings that wasted away their savings. Looking back - he was right. When they got divorced, he left all the crap with her & is happy. She has all that stuff but is broke & miserable.

Connie Holaway Hulsey i always checkk the 'managers special' sections at Krogers-& will buy larger quanities then divide it & put in the freezer. Seldom do I shop at Walmart for any food items-overpriced or things are low for 1-2 days, then price-switched at a much higher (but seemingly similiar-say from $2,38 up to 2.88). Also a regular at thrift stores--which I MISS from the Bham area! My grandsons all have adorable Halloween costumes- two still with tags- unworn-& all four costumes cost about what one 'kinda good' one would have been! Nothing like gettinga Children's Place costume for $3!

Trina Sanford Buy stocking stuffers during each seasons clearance time and you usually don't have to shop for Christmas party gifts last min for kids. Buy old movies on VHS for the kids...they actually like previews and can work the VCR without ruining the DVDs

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