How Did I Get Here?

I am not a shopping guru. I do not have bags of money that magically levitate around my bed, or trees in the back yard that sprout cash instead of leaves. Actually, my budget is pretty tight compared to most incomes. That is how the "quest" to master the art of spending money successful began. I don't want to try two, three, four or more times to "get it right" when I look into buying a product. I don't want to buy the same thing six times in five different flavors for no reason. When I part with my cash, I want to hit the nail on the head the first time.

I have a monthly budget that I use for entertainment purchases. Depending on how your bills and responsabilities work, you might have daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or who knows what else that governs your funds. The bottom line is, unless you have the above-mentioned money-growing trees in the backyard, you only have so much cash flow to go around. And I'm sure you, just like me, want to make it count.

The first thing that I discovered as a self-proclaimed shopaholic is this: Learn to pay your bills first. Look after your needs. Do you have food? Is your rent paid? Did you pay your brother back for the movie ticket last month? I love shopping -- but I won't touch debt with a ten foot poll. To someone who enjoys shopping, debt is the equivelant of the Game Over screen in Super Mario Brothers. We don't want this.

The next thing that I learnt is to look before you buy. Impulse purchases are much more likely to become "What was I thinking?" moments then those things that we buy after careful research and examination. If you want to spend $5 on a new hairbrush, go for it. But if you are looking into something costly $30, $40, $50, etc. make sure that you think about it if you can.

The exception to this rule is if the item in question is a one time opportunity. For instance, I saw a wall hanging at a Florida Flea Market this February while on vacation of a singular circle that had the sun wearing the moon as a mask. I really liked it. Did I need it? No. Was I interested? Yes. It was $15. Since I could not answer what I felt was an imporant question -- How will I display this? -- I decided to come back next weekend and pick it up if I reached an answer. The flea market vendor was not there. While this was not heartbreaking (I had not really found a solid answer anyway) I still wonder if I would have been better off buying it the day that I saw it. Its not something that I can go and pick up from my local Wal-Mart after "sleeping on it".

Most things do not fit here though. That awesome game that you saw at Target? The DVD title that looked interesting even though you have never seen a trailer for the film? That $300 netbook that might be handy for two weeks while away from your main PC? These are the moments when thinking it through becomes the golden rule.

But how does one do this? How long, or how many times, should we tell ourselves "No."? That depends on your budget, the cost of what you are considering, and the type of shopper that you are. These methods below might not work for everyone but they work great for me.

The Rule of Three: For anything $50 or under I tend to use this. DVDs? Books? Games? If I see something on a store shelf that catches my interest that is a bit more costly (I usually do this for items $30 and above) I pay attention to how many times that I gravitate toward it in a store over the following weeks. This method probably works well for me since I do not drive and my trips to the shops are spread out since I go with family or friends. If I continue to keep thinking about getting something and going back to it, I will generally buy it the third time. While waiting to buy it, I also tend to research it via the internet to determine whether it is something I will like.

Windows-Shopping: Another method that I find really useful is to actually "go shopping" for certain items using sites like Amazon.com. Not only can I take as much time as I want while I "browse", I also get access to reviews, discussions and -- if I really want to delve deeper -- even video footage for more important purchases. I have no qualms with using a credit card to buy things that I know are going to be harder to get locally. But I do not use them for larger items (like electronics) and I do not use them impulsively. How do I do it? My favorite place to shop online is Amazon and I slow my trigger finger from firing off orders by checking with my family to see if they want to order anything to ensure free shipping. Waiting for the answers gives me time to access whether I am getting the right stuff. Rushing on internet purchases, at least for me, does not usually go well.

Welcome To Shop N Tell!

So you like to shop, huh? But you hate feeling that you have wasted your money. The addage that "one man's trash is another man's treasure" is very true. Especially when it comes to items that we buy for enjoyment or, as most of us likely call it, "entertainment". Everybody does this to some degree. One you have a roof over your head and food in your belly -- once tomorrow is looked after and we can focus on today -- that is when most of us turn to the things that interest us and start purchasing based on want, rather then need. There is no need for shame here, my dears. We all do it.

But do we all end up satisfied with the things that we have purchased? I think I am safe in saying that this has been, for all of us at some point, a resounding no. And that is not surprising. With millions of things that we can buy to persue our hobbies and fill in our liesure hours, it can be tough figuring out what is worth your hard earned cash and what isn't. Especially when, as I said above, this will undoubtedly vary from person to person.

Trying to find that road -- that path to shopping "enlightenment" -- is what Shop N Tell is all about! This blog is not going to be focused on telling you what's hot, what's not, and here! -- if you follow this cookie cutter recipe you will be "happy!". Instead, I am going to share my philosophy on finding "enlightenment" through shopping. By sharing secrets that have allowed me to successfully have many "A-ha!" moments where I have made buying decissions that might not have worked for anyone else -- but which worked for me perfectly. I will show you how you can achieve this, too.

Here is the deal: Shop N Tell might not save you money. This is not a blog about trying to get things "on the cheap", although if I see an awesome deal on something during my research you can bet I will share it here. What Shop N Tell can teach you is:

Piece of Mind: If you learn to buy things that will work for You, and not for somebody else, you will be much happier with your purchases.

How to be Review Savvy: If you know how to read a review and take from it information that will matter to you the internet can become a powerful tool when deciding on major purchases.

Buyer Confidence: Once you know how to find out about a product before you go to a store to buy it, you will:

1. Know the jargon, which will keep you from getting the run-around from salespeople

2. Know the questions to ask, which will make sure you buy the right product

3. Know what you want before you go inside, which will help you avoid being sold on something that *you* did not need.

So what are you waiting for? Dive on in and enjoy my blog! Shopping might be a "costly" interest, but checking out Shop N Tell will cost you nothing but your time. Want to get in on the fun and have your opinions be heard? Feel free to submit your reviews of items you buy: getting opinions on anything from books, to games, to electronics and more can be very helpful. Don't know much about writing a review? Feel free to check out How to Write a Review and How to Read a Review for some help.

Most importantly: Have fun! Shopping shouldn't be stress!

Katallina