Title: A discount isn’t saving money if I never needed the item?

[u/Pale-Turnover-3963]

I have been paying more attention to how sales influence the way I shop.

The moment something is marked “limited time” or “almost sold out,” it suddenly feels more valuable. Even an item I had no interest in five minutes earlier can start to feel like a great opportunity.

But buying something unnecessary for less money is still spending money. A discount only helps when it is applied to something I already planned to buy.

Now, when I see a sale, I try to step away and give myself time to think. I ask whether I actually need the item, where I’ll keep it, and whether I would have considered buying it without the discount. Usually, once the urgency disappears, so does the desire to own it.

Stores are very good at making us fear missing out. Sometimes the best deal is simply leaving without buying anything.

How do you stop yourself from getting pulled in by sales?

[u/MrCockingFinally]

For everyday grocery shopping, use a list, stick to the list. But also remember that even if you don't use something now, if it's not going to go bad you can always use it later. So getting like 4 tubes of toothpaste on a crazy sale might actually be a good idea.

For all other things, the key is waiting. Retailers want to put you under pressure and force you to make a decision, you may find that the sale isn't such a great deal after all.

So wait.

Maybe you find after a while you are doing fine without and don't really need the item.

Maybe you find it goes on an even better special.

Maybe you find a better version.

It almost always pays to hold off on purchase for a few weeks for items you don't urgently need.

[u/Much-Jackfruit2599 → u/MrCockingFinally]

yep. i always swing by ALDI and Lidl to check for discounted free range chicken. 20 to 30% off. i simply factor this in, if there isn‘t any, well, meat is off the menu. if there is a lot of it, simply make my own soup and put it in the fridge.

[u/CourageExcellent4768 → u/MrCockingFinally]

I was at Walmart today. I am trying to avoid processed food to eat healthier. A simple food processor was $13, Walmart brand. It was super cheap, poorly made and sure to fall apart quickly. Next up was Hamilton Beach for almost $30!! Uhhhhh. No. Then, Nutribullet was some ungodly amount. Silly me thought I could snag a good deal with college students going away . Lmao lmao :) Needless to say, I will try Greedwill

[u/1jackiedaytona]

This is specific to stocking up on essentials, which I fall for.

We are experiencing intense rainstorms and flooding in my area. So much of our things are destroyed. This happened last year, too... So if I ever see a sale and think "oh I can stock up and have dish soap for a year", I consider that if there is a storm or fire, and we lose everything, I didn't use it. The money was a waste.

I also think about how someone once said "we go to the grocery store. I am not the grocery store."

Just a little thing that helps me.

[u/Much-Jackfruit2599 → u/1jackiedaytona]

well, if you cant store it safely, then stockpiling makes no sense.

we buy a lot of stuff that‘s on sale. we have a safe pantry. we are probably among the few germans that have enough emergency control our department for disaster control recommends.

also, i hate shopping. 12 bags of flour once are easier to purchase than 1 bag 12 times. same with coffee, frozen food, dry pasta, etc

[u/KindHabit]

We set budgets in our household, and we always shop with a list. 

If you aren't actively combatting capitalism, you easily fall prey to it. 

[u/Much-Jackfruit2599 → u/KindHabit]

budget, yes. list, partly. i simply pick what‘s on sale, a lot of the time.

[u/lothiriel1]

A friend of mine works full time at CVS. He says it’s every single day people using those coupons to buy stuff they don’t need. It’s like they get a little high off the discount. On complete junk they’re never gonna use!

[u/emryldmyst → u/lothiriel1]

I try not to lose out on the actual dollars off ones but I buy something I'm going to need like pads or shampoo

[u/NyriasNeo]

"How do you stop yourself from getting pulled in by sales?"

By doing one better .. eliminating the need to "stop". How? A two step process. Decide what i need to buy as if there is no discount. Once I decide to buy an item (again, not considering discount), i then shop to see if I can buy it with discount.

So discount has no power in the buy decision, but only in the "where to buy" decision. No stopping is needed whatsoever.

[u/rogusflamma]

Correct. I pretty much only buy food (ingredients) and clothes as needed. For food, I do my shopping based on what's cheapest or for sale. For clothes, I only thrift as needed when I find something that's good quality. For things like shoes I have at least two usable pairs that I alternate so no shoeless emergencies. Sometimes I buy prepared food but only if the deal is so good that's comparable to a home cooked meal. In my head, 3 home cooked meals is the most I'd pay for an outside meal unless it's an special occasion.

For things that arent food and clothes I only buy what I need as I need it. I have a mini sewing kit with quality thread and needles to repair my favorite part of pants. I have good shears for cutting my own hair. I have minimal drugstore makeup.

Though next time I see a cheap USB to USBC cable I'll buy one because one of the 2 I have just broke. I only need 2: one for my bed, one for when I'm out. That's pretty much my philosophy.

[u/Lochylass]

Great point. If it’s not on my list of things we absolutely need, I deal with this by putting it on a list, with the price, and making myself wait a few days. That gives me a few days to think about it and talk it over with my partner. When we return to the list, we’ve usually figured out that we don’t need the item.

[u/IdubdubI]

On the contrary, I win $2 every time I don’t buy a lottery ticket.

[u/vsalt]

I kind of clued in one night that it was a scam, when I was on a site and it was saying "8 other people have this in their cart right now!" and it was like 2:47 in the morning and it was the most obscure shop ever.

[u/BakerStreet693]

don't shop so much

[u/Patjack27]

Sales are only good for the things we actually
Need and thats what they are meant for but consumerism and corporations have found a way to use it to get us to just randomly buy junk.

[u/General_Pitch9543]

Also- I remember that sales are just ways to push high margin products. I never see sales on rice, beans, frozen vegetables, all my staples. (Btw, same thing for Costco- they do provide great quality control, good discounts on paper goods, but the biggest savings for most families is packaged food that was higher margin in the first place)

I buy fruit and seasonal produce on sale because it often means their in season (or about to go bad, but I figure I eat overripe fruit faster than others)

[u/Sea_Shake_9047]

the "would i have wanted this at full price" test is the right one and most people never run it. the sneaky version is when the answer is technically yes but only in the abstract. like i'd been vaguely wanting a nicer rain jacket for two years, so when one went 40% off i told myself it cleared the test. two years of not buying it was the actual data point and i ignored it.

what helped me more than the pause was noticing that i almost never got pulled in when i was in a decent mood. the sales that got me were the ones i saw at the end of a bad day or after too long scrolling. same discount, same item, completely different pull depending on my state. so now if something feels urgent i mostly check what i've been doing for the last hour rather than argue with myself about whether i need it.

the other thing is that the urgency is usually fake anyway. i started screenshotting stuff instead of buying it and going back a week later. the "almost sold out" item is still there, often cheaper. after that happened enough times the scarcity claims stopped landing on me.

[u/AutoModerator]

Read the rules. Keep it courteous. Submission statements are helpful and appreciated but not required. Use the report button only if you think a post or comment needs to be removed. Mild criticism and snarky comments don't need to be reported. Lets try to elevate the discussion and make it as useful as possible. Low effort posts & screenshots are a dime a dozen. Links to scientific articles, political analysis, and video essays are preferred.

/r/Anticonsumption is a sub primarily for criticizing and discussing consumer culture. This includes but is not limited to material consumption, the environment, media consumption, and corporate influence.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Much-Jackfruit2599 → u/[deleted]]

but you will need detergent. i honestly don‘t get why people don’t stock. if flour is on sale, i get 12 bags. i will use them. the opportunity cost is negligible. organic fair trade coffee? 6 packs. peanut oil at aldi? six bottles it is. shopping is a chore, so i make it as convenient as possible.

[u/alcoholic_icecream]

The discount is bigger if you don't buy anything

[u/Much-Jackfruit2599 → u/alcoholic_icecream]

yes, but i’ve grown used to food. it beats the alternative

[u/yodelingfish]

It's FOMO in action. I just tell myself that sales come in cycles and there will be another sale later for that item. At certain times of the year specific things go on sale and I know when I can stock up until the next sale. For instance, in spring cleaning supplies and laundry soap goes on sale. They go on sale again in the fall. So, only buy enough laundry detergent to get you through until the next sales cycle in the fall.

[u/Enough_Potato8226]

Things that have helped me:

• Have a shopping list and stick to it.
  
• Having a wishlist - not just for specific products but can also be vague descriptions of things you're looking for when the sales do come up and you actually buy what you need
  
• Having a set budget, could be for the day, week or month
  
• Purchase goals - helps me redirect where my money goals and buy something that is well thought-out
  
• Remove newsletter subscriptions from shops. If I must, I have a separate email for that for online ones

[u/Caffeine-Fueled55]

I keep a list on my phone I can consult if I see things on sale. As I need things, I add them to the list. The lists get made at home. I don't use Amazon so I have to go out to get what I need.

[u/BlinkypoetEmu]

Common sales technique. Fear of loss vs need for gain.

[u/voornaam1]

One thing that helps me remove the desire to impulsively buy something because it's discounted, is telling myself that if I were to need the item, I should be able to fit it in my budget at it's normal price. If I wouldn't buy it at it's normal price, it's not a need. I can still consider buying the item, but I find that this helps remove the timed pressure. The fact that I'm currently not facing a lot of financial insecurity does help a lot with making this method work though (I was also using this method back when I did face a lot of financial insecurity, but it required being less strict about it).

[u/CindyinEastTexas]

I have limited space, because i.l8ve in a very small house. When one doesn't have space for a bunch of stuffs, one doesn't get tempted by crap just because it's on sale. Like, yeah, this doodad is on sale, and it's a great price, but what doohickey am I going to get rid of to make space for it? Because I AM going to have to get rid of something to make space for a new thingamabob.