If a woman buys a shirt, she’ll want a skirt to go with it.
She’ll realize her ballet flats won’t work so she’ll go buy some espadrilles.
She’ll want to accessorize her new outfit but realize her chokers are out of date so she’ll go buy a long necklace from a boutique.
When she’s paying, she’ll realize her leather purse just isn’t the right style for her new espadrilles and necklace and she’ll find a bright bag at Target.
While she’s at Target she’ll see some earrings that could not be more perfect with her new outfit.
And more often than not, she’ll want another shirt to match.*
And that, my friends, is way too familiar. I’m calling them waterfall purchases. It starts with one purchase that seems like a really good deal but with every step, it’s like a waterfall, one purchase leading into another, ending in a pool of things. If you’d realized staring at the Clearance rack that the $4.99 shirt would actually cost you $90, you would have never gotten it in the first place. Not to mention all the extra STUFF you now have.
I have two examples of this from around our house.
We got a free pool from my parents but then the liner went out so we had to get a new liner. We’ve had to rebuild the deck. We have to buy floats every year. I’ve had to buy chemicals continuously. We bought extra towels which I now have to wash incessantly. We buy sunscreen in bulk for all our visitors. Our food bill goes up to entertain. And on it goes. Sure, the pool was free but there are so many trappings that go with it.
But it doesn’t just stop at free or clearanced items.
We had to plan for Scott’s bicycle purchase. He does some serious mountain biking and cycling and he needed some bikes that could keep up. He got a great deal but the bike is all he budgeted for. Now he has to buy energy drinks and water bottles and helmets and shoes and clothes and truck contraptions to carry it. Sure the bike was a great deal, but there’s a waterfall effect with so many other purchases.
I’m sure you can relate in some way. Anyone ever get a free puppy??
Waterfall purchases are leading us into pools of misdirected funds, unnecessary possessions and even debt.
As I’m staring down Spending this week for Summer of 7, I can’t help but pinpoint my weaknesses. I tend to think about this with larger purchases but am so guilty of it with smaller things like clothes. I know some of you must struggle with this too.
I think one way we can curb unnecessary spending is to take the time to ask ourselves if what we’re buying has the potential to cause waterfall purchases. If so, are we willing to pay the price for all of them? But more than are we willing to pay for them, is that where we should be spending our money?
Is anyone else guilty of this? Any other suggestions for dealing with it?
*Written by Amy Bennett in the style of If You Give a Cat a Cupcake, image courtesy of Old Navy
lol this reminded me I wanted to see how much Old Navy tanks were selling for right now 🙂
ouch. this one hurt just a wee bit!!! but oh, so true. great thoughts. well put. and very timely. i’ll be thinking of waterfalls now with every purchase, i’m guessing!
have a great day!
steph
HopeUnbroken recently posted…why God says be still
I know…it’s hurting me too. But don’t let it guilt you, let it change you! We’ll all feel better when we say no when we should.
This was very clever AND so true. I think we do this constantly and it reminds me that if we just say no to accumulation, we can escape this trap. Maybe I need to tattoo the backs of my hands with the phrase “Do you REALLY need it?” so that whenever I go to pick something up or pay for it, I will really have to think about it. 🙂
Katrina recently posted…I’m so vain. I bet I think this post is about me.
You know, you laugh, but when I was recovering from my emotional affair (see my eBook) I had to physically put a reminder on my computer to “keep it clean”. Maybe you’re on to something after all. Not a tattoo, but perhaps we DO need a reminder to question our motives/needs before we purchase.
I was just thinking of this the other day. I’m on WASTE week. I think SPENDING is up next for me. So this week I’m trying to not waste and get frugal and be one with mother nature. Hubby and I drive over to Port Aransas about 3/4 hour away and have a nice lunch. Oh the way home he says . . . “how does a $18 salad fit into this waste week?” I assure him that I was not breaking a rule that it fit in perfectly. 🙂 But I began thinking about the big scheme of things and how I can so easily rationalize things away – especially the little things. I’m sure spending week is going to open my eyes. YIPES!
Positively Alene recently posted…debra george says go, but the what if’s are killing me.
You know, it’s amazing to me how many of these tie so tightly together. Possessions, clothing and spending overlap a lot for me. And you nailed it. We rationalize. The notes I have for tomorrow’s post is all about justifications!