Clutter Avoidance: Resisting Things on Sale

Happy Tote Bags — Photo by K.K. Koay, found on Flickr, licensed via Creative Commons

As we head into the holiday season, we’ll all see lots of sales — and those sales may tempt us to buy for ourselves, not just for the people on our lists. But here are some words of caution to remind us that sales aren’t always our friends.

Here’s a user comment on an Apartment Therapy post:

I used to jump on a good deal, but a $7 shirt that I don't wear is $7 wasted.

And here's a tweet from Jane McGonigal as she decluttered a sale item:

Giving myself 5 pts for ditching a Marc Jacobs maxi dress I got for $75 marked down from $1000 that was too big and weird and never wore.

A new daily deal website called Meh says this, explaining its name:

Don’t you feel meh about most deals? You don’t have to buy something just because it’s xx% off.

Trent Hamm at The Simple Dollar has a thoughtful blog post entitled Why Buying Things on Sale is an Awful Way to Save, which includes this bit of wisdom:

When people snap to attention and pull out the wallet when they hear the word “sale” or see a big discount, they’re going at it completely in reverse.

The sensible way to bargain-hunt is to know exactly what you want before you even start looking. If you’ve decided, on your own, that you do in fact want Heroes: Season 1 for your own entertainment, great.

Now’s the time to bargain hunt, with the item you already have in mind. ...

The important part is to put on your blinders and ignore other items. A big sale on an item you don’t really want is still a waste of money.