Just the other day I was at the store with my four little ones glancing through some baby clothes on clearance. I was really struggling! There were some great deals on some really cute baby girl clothes, but I was having a hard time deciding if I should buy some.
Did my little girl need any clothes? Was this the way I wanted to spend the money from our clothing budget? If I did buy something, how could I decide between all the cute options? Which would be the most useful and versatile? Which would last the longest?
My three older kids were getting impatient as I stood there hemming and hawing over a purchase of less than $5 (or less than $10 if I got two…).
Hmmm… who’s having a baby soon? These would make great gifts!
Ahh! I could not believe I was having such a hard time making this decision. Several years ago, the decision would have been easy– buy several outfits in different sizes for us and several more to save as baby shower gifts.
After all, it was a great deal! Or so I thought!
Is it a good deal?
I like a good deal as much as the next gal (well, probably more), but now I am more careful about defining a good deal. I have learned that there is a difference between a good price and a good deal. In most cases, it’s a personal question. It depends on our needs, our taste, and our budget. There’s a lot more to a good deal than just the price.
Seeing something at a great price is not enough to get it in my cart. The purchase has to go through a more rigorous mental analysis.
Here are some guidelines I use to determine if something is a good deal for me. My husband will assure you that I am still learning to follow them.
- If I don’t have the money for it, it’s not a good deal. Of course I’m talking about cash money, not available credit. With very few exceptions, if you can’t pay cash, then it’s not a good deal. If it’s something we really want or need, we can make it a high enough priority to save up for it.
- If I don’t need it, it’s not a good deal. Most of us have plenty of stuff. Striking when every good price comes along will just fill our houses with things that we don’t need.
- If I don’t have a current use for it, it’s not a good deal. I don’t want to store things away for some unknown future date just because they were a good price today. I’m learning more and more the value of uncluttered space. Not only does it look better, it feels better too.
- If I have to think of how to justify a purchase (to myself or to my husband), it’s not a good deal. Good choices don’t usually require justification. When we find ourselves trying to justify buying something just because it’s a good price, we probably shouldn’t buy it.
Clues that something IS a good deal:
In addition to the price being “right,” there are some other standards that your purchase should meet before you can call it a good deal.
- It’s in the budget. Just because the price of an item is good, doesn’t mean that it’s worth spending your money on. With the way we budget, it’s fine to “splurge” on things as long as it’s accounted for in the budget. If your priorities change, you can move money from “eating out” to “clothes” so that you can buy those sandals you’ve been eyeing that just went on sale.
- It’s something you need or were planning to buy anyway. One time I was making a costume for my daughter and I needed some white satin. I was at some yard sales on Saturday morning and I found a yard of white satin folded neatly on a table in someone’s garage with a $1 price tag. I was thrilled! It was a great deal because it was something I was already planning to buy.
- It’s something that you are sure you will use. I would put a time frame on it. Say, something you’re going to use in the next year (or sonner). If you aren’t absolutely sure you will use it (and reasonably soon), then you are just exchanging your money for something that will take up space and provide neither use nor enjoyment.
It’s not easy!
As someone who is always looking for a good deal, I can assure you that passing up something with a great price is hard. Learning to make a distinction between a good price and a good deal takes practice and willpower. Lots of willpower!
Learning to distinguish between something that is just a good price and something that is a great deal for you is well worth the self-discipline it requires. Your wallet will be fuller and your space will be cleaner.
How about you?
- Have you struggled to decide if something was a great deal for you, or just a great price?
- How do you decide if something is a great deal for you?
Let's Do This Together!
We're banding together to pay off some serious debt in 2019! We want you to join in the debt-smashing fun!
When you subscribe, you'll get monthly reminders to report your progress and you'll see how we're doing as a group!
You'll also receive frugal inspiration and financial motivation in your inbox to help you along the way!
Are you ready to smash debt with us?!
CeCee says
June 22, 2015 at 10:24 amGood advice Stephanie. This has been a learning experience for me for sure. I would often buy things that are a “good price” instead of a “good deal”. I would often shop and say “Oh, I’ve wanted this forever.” when the truth is that I might have thought about it once in the last two years.
What I did to help me from talking myself into a purchase is create a wishlist. I would write the item and the date by it. At one point I had “nice blender” written on there five times with five different dates each about two months apart. That’s when I decided it was okay for me to look for a nice blender on sale. Its also stopped me from buying things. I have “window coverings” on there from a year ago. When I saw a set I liked for an “okay” price. I wrote that price down next to that entry on my wishlist. Then I found a fabric I liked even better for half that price, and made them myself!
Elise says
June 22, 2015 at 12:33 pmThis is great!
I am a terrible shopper because I can’t part with my money. Even if it fits all of those criteria I would rather keep the money in my wallet. Its a terrible affliction 😉 So now I have a list of things I need in my phone with the price I will pay for them and every once in a while my husband will get them. That way I don’t feel guilty and I still get something I really need (like right now I desperately need shorts!!)
Sarah Kristen says
June 22, 2015 at 3:18 pmI love both of the above ideas – I’ve done a wish list before too, but I especially like the idea of writing down price points – what’s an “okay” price, what’s the pricing I’m willing to pay, etc. Good reminders!
Becca says
June 22, 2015 at 3:30 pmHaving just done a massive decluttering of the house, let me tell you this is a lesson I still need to learn! Granted many of the things I have gotten rid of were things that were given to us, or things that were necessary at the time but are no longer necessary (for instance clothes, toys, or games my kids have outgrown); but there were quite a few things I bought because “it’s such a good deal” – things brand new pants we ordered on-line for $1, which is a great deal, but when they arrived they didn’t fit one kid and the other kid didn’t like them, so they sat in the bottom of the dresser unloved and unwanted; or cheap toys I picked up because “it’s such a great deal” and would give the kids one more thing to open under the tree, but they weren’t toys the kids actually wanted. I’m trying to be better at this now.
I’m still better than my MIL! Shopping with her is an experience. “Oh, look, they have all this cream marked down to 60 cents, that’s less than half-price. Let’s see, do we need cream? Probably not. It expires tomorrow, so would we even use it? Nah, I don’t think so. But it’s such a great price. Oh what the heck, let’s buy six of them. Now, since we’re buying cream, we’ll need to buy cake to go with it. What a pity, none of the cakes are marked down. But if we’re getting cream we have to buy a cake. We’d probably better buy two cakes, since we’re getting so much cream. Since we’re buying cake we should also probably get some ice cream, don’t you think people would like ice cream with their cake?”
Jenni says
June 22, 2015 at 4:35 pmYES – this is what I realized too – a lot of the stuff I had in our house I didn’t really like, and I asked myself, “so how did it get here?” – the answer was 9 times out of 10, “Well, because it was a good deal . . . ” It was only then that I realized how a “good deal” can short-circuit other factors when deciding on whether or not to get an item. Honestly, for me, the things I love and wear/use the most cost more upfront, but they were things that I really liked and knew I would use.
[email protected] says
June 22, 2015 at 4:07 pmI think June has been the month of “good price” items for us. Couches, a trampoline, a ping pong table…they were just too good to pass up! They were not, however in the budget, and we don’t need them, so maybe it wasn’t a good deal. I’ll just have to make up for it by turning my daughters into professional ping pong players.
Jenni says
June 22, 2015 at 4:40 pmI can tell you of at least 4 things I passed on in the past couple of weeks that were good deals: cute striped boys socks at a great sale at the Gap outlet, cute leggings for my daughter, motivation/reward stickers that were on clearance at Joann’s, and a set of baby blocks at Joanns.
I am in a decluttering process too, and here is why I didn’t buy these things:
1) striped socks are cute, but are also a curse when you have four kids, three of whom regularly strip off their socks and leave them all over the house – finding the matching sock is good for crazy-making
2) leggings . . . they were cute, and she kind of needed them, but they really weren’t the ones I knew she would wear all the time, so we passed
3) motivation stickers – don’t I already have 1600 of those with a half-completed motivation chart somewhere in our house? Yes, I know I don’t have these ones, but really, pass . . .
4) 52 baby blocks with four kids in the house . . . they will be scattered everywhere, and it will either be something I will have to pick up or nag them to get
It wasn’t just about saving money, but saving my sanity – often I am able to pass on an object when I realize the cost of using/maintaining/living with it on a regular basis.
CeCee says
June 22, 2015 at 9:46 pmJenni- you are 1000% correct. the cost of using/maintaining.living with something is HUGE for me. Recently I was offered a free gas powered lawn mower. I think the neighbor felt bad for me because he always saw me pushing around an “old fashioned” reel mower. I turned it down. I enjoy the reel mower because its good exercise, quiet, and most importantly it doesn’t cost gas to use! That “free” lawn mower would have cost me more in the long run than my $60 reel mower. Besides I have a tiny yard compared to what I grew up with so its no big deal for me to do a little manual labor
[email protected] says
June 22, 2015 at 5:34 pmWhat a great differentiation! I really don’t like parting with my money, but I can get sucked into the “good deal” fallacy. Thanks for the tip.
Elisabeth says
June 23, 2015 at 4:03 amI am a terrible shopper. I tend to see things that meet all the “good deal” criteria and may still not buy it. I really don’t like to shop, and I refrain from going unless I am actually in need of something– this makes it harder to find those great deals that for all the criteria. I’m still learning to be more savvy.
Liz S says
June 23, 2015 at 4:55 amGreat post! Everything you said is SO true, and I have the same challenges you have where it’s hard for me to pass up a good price, and I used to go crazy and put extras away as gifts, hoping I would need them someday. Love how you mentioned that it takes up space…so true. By the way, your site is working much better for me now, and no pop ups blocking anything or slowing me down. 😛
[email protected] says
June 23, 2015 at 6:13 amI am so bad at buying things just because they are a good price. Every time I go to Ikea I have to stop myself from buying things I don’t need, just because they are so inexpensive. The dollar stores are the same way. I try to buy something now only if I currently have a place for it.
Liz S says
June 23, 2015 at 1:40 pmI forgot to mention something else I do some months. It makes me feel like my sacrifices are really worth it, and that every little thing I DO NOT buy, adds up: Whether it’s a great deal or not, whenever there is something I am about to buy but at the last minute pass on (or put back at the register if I’m in a store), I put it into my credit card register (spreadsheet on my desktop) just like I actually bought it. But I highlight that cell. At the end of the month, I usually have several highlighted cells in my spreadsheet. Then, at the end of the month, because I did NOT actually buy those things, I can change all those highlighted cells to zero, and that either puts me back on budget or under budget for the month. At that point, I look back over all those things I did not buy. If I still want some of those items and they are still available, then I can guiltlessly go back and buy them since they are already accounted for. Or, if I choose not to, it gives me extra cash to put toward my current financial goal. But more times that not, I’m STILL over budget, so this means less to take out of savings to pay my credit card bill in full!
Pyper says
June 28, 2015 at 10:22 amGreat tips. When I was younger, I always had a hard time deciding what a good deal really was. Now that I have children, it is easier to “know” what we need and will use rather than what I “could” use.
Krista Stockman says
August 22, 2015 at 12:55 amMy go-to question: If this item wasn’t marked as “clearance” but the price was still the same, would I still think it’s worth it?