11 Ways To Help You Avoid Buyer’s Remorse

Buyer’s remorse is the feeling of regret after you have made a purchase. Maybe you don’t want it, or maybe you were pushed into it by an over-aggressive salesperson, or maybe you paid too much for it. There are easy ways to avoid buyer’s remorse.

To avoid buyers, there are two things you need to do. If you aren’t shopping for it, don’t buy it, and don’t allow someone (that includes you) to talk you into buying something you don’t need or want.

When was the last time you bought something and later regretted it? Why did you regret buying it? Avoiding buying something and regretting it later is easy after you know how. In this article, I will so you 11 ways to avoid buyer’s remorse.

 

Here’s a definition of buyer’s remorse: Buyer’s remorse is a sense of regret after making a purchase. It’s after-purchase stress resulting from making an impulsive decision. (Buyer’s remorse can also result from having to make a choice between approximately equal alternatives. That’s difficult … but it’s also a different topic.)

We have buyer’s remorse when we’ve made a purchase and later discover it was mistake.  There’re several reasons that it could be a mistake. Maybe you didn’t plan for it and now you see you can’t afford it.  Maybe it didn’t live you up to your expectations.  Maybe you dropped your guard and one of your spending triggers got the best of you. Part of being frugal is avoiding mistakes that cost time and money.  I’ve listed some ways to avoid buyer’s remorse.

11 Ways To Help You Avoid Buyer’s Remorse

1. Do You Really Need It, Or Do You Just Want It

It’s important to make the distinction between needs and wants before we make any purchase. If you need it, you’re required to have it.  Use your best thought process to determine if what you’re thinking of buying is a need, or are you allowing yourself to get sucked into one of those deals where something else could do just as well (or perhaps better).  If this is only something you want, you can go without it (or purchase it when circumstances are more advantageous). Do your research. Don’t be in too much of a hurry to buy immediately.

Here’s an example: I need a car to get to and from work. I don’t need a new BMW to get back and forth to work, but they sure are nice—and reliable … NO! Yes, I need reliable transportation, but there are much less expensive cars that can take care of that.

Know what you need and let that add weight to your decision.

Notice I’d didn’t say don’t purchase wants, but don’t make decisions base on emotion. And never finance a want. Plan it and save for it.

2. Can I Afford It

There’s a difference between being able to buy something and being able to afford it. I’m sure we have all heard the story about people who buy (obtain financing for) a new car and are next to broke for the duration of the loan. They could and did buy the car, but every month the loan payments took just about all the money they had—for several years—until the last payment was made. They don’t get to enjoy their new cars very much, and by the time they’re done paying, the cars aren’t very new, are they? Those people could not afford their cars, but … they could buy them. By the way, I’m sure you know that, currently, it’s common for a new car loan to have a term of 72 months (that’s 6 years) and an 84 month (7 years) term is not unheard of … Now we’re getting close to a decade! And what percentage of your life is that???

3. Remorse: How Long Will It Take To Earn The Money To Pay For It

The scenario above isn’t limited to the purchase of an automobile. It could be a house, a new computer system, anything that limits your ability to have a LIFE and protect yourself (at the very least to save money for emergencies). Any bill that keeps you so financially restricted that you have no wiggle room is a bill you can’t afford.

You can’t afford anything that prevents you from saving money.

I’ve seen any number of things I’d really like to have. Some I’ve purchased and some I haven’t.  When I consider buying something, I ask myself, “How long will it take to pay this off?”  I’m not saying I’d consider financing the purchase. I’m saying with my income and budget how many hours will I have to work (trade my life for) in order afford this item? And, do I really want it that badly? This is about choices and trading one thing—money (for which you traded your work, your life) for another—stuff.

4. What Else Would I Could I / Spend This Money On

Most people acknowledge that getting their needs met is more important than satisfying a desire. So, if I spend money on something now, will it prevent me from getting a future need met?  We don’t need to consult a crystal ball to get an answer. Most of us know the cycles of our life. We can plan for upcoming events.  There are things we know we will need, like new eyeglasses, and we usually have a pretty good idea as to the cost.

I brought up eyeglasses because my wife has needed a new prescription every 2 years since she was a child. Over the years we’ve been married her glasses have cost us about $800 every time, unless she needed new frames, then it’s a little more. You know my budget has an eyeglasses fund. I make regular contributions to that fund, and I’d rather pass on something—say a new grill—if it would interfere with doing so. That, of course is not the only fund in my budget. And I also save for emergencies.

Here’s a good place to bring up purchase justification: It’s not usually too hard to convince yourself that buying something is a good idea. You start coming up with reasons why a want is really a need. Stop that train of thought and ask yourself, “Will making this purchase prevent me from being able to meet known need in the future?” and “Do I feel good about the buffer I have against the unexpected?” (Make sure you answer honestly.) Think about what you could have to give up if you go ahead with the purchase.

5. What Else Will This Cost?

The initial cost of an item is not the only price you’ll pay for it. What will it cost you to keep it? Think about a car:

After purchase you’ll have licensing and insurance that have to be renewed regularly. There’ll be oil changes, tires to replace, other repairs, and maintenance.

Or …

Let’s say you buy a carpet: You’ll need to clean it from time to time, and immediately start saving for the next new one (because you really don’t know when the kids, the dog, the ??? will happen).

To get the most out of our purchases, we don’t just buy something and assume we’re done. Once we have it, we need to take care of it. That only makes sense. If we don’t, we’ve thrown our money down the drain. It’s almost like our stuff owns us. If you want to avoid buyer’s remorse, you need to consider that before you make any purchase.

6. What Are Your Spending Triggers

Have you made an unfortunate purchase in the past? Why did you make it? Each of us has spending triggers that

weaken our resolve to spend wisely. These triggers kick in over and over again. For example, my wife and I both love leaves. If we go to a craft fair, yard sale, or antique store without at least half an idea of what we’re looking for and a predetermined limit on how much we’ll spend, we’ll come home with any number of leaf-themed items, most of them knickknacks. As with any home, ours can tolerate only so many of those before our stuff takes over. Over the years quite a few of those purchases have “lived” at our house for only a short time. Then we cart them to Good Will, etc. for someone else to buy and enjoy. That is a waste of money. Since we work at being frugal, we do make a list of what we’ll look for and how much we’ll spend when we make these buying forays.

7. Can This Purchase Wait 24 Hours

Despite the carnie barkers, the hucksters, and the “limited time offer” ads, seldom do we have to buy something “right now.” Many of the things “never to be seen again” or “soon to disappear” come back regularly. If there is no immediate need in your life for you to make an unplanned purchase, don’t. Think about it for a day (or longer). Look into alternatives. Make purchases of your choice, not as a result of high pressure sales techniques.

By the way, this applies to items sold at “the lowest price you’ll see” too. I see a lot that type of thing on Ebay and similar websites shortly after they’re “no longer available at that price.” Fairly often they go for a lower price.

8. Can I Find The Best Value Here

If you’ve determined you’re going to make a purchase—whether a need or want—take the time to find out where you can get the best deal. (Surely someone else is selling the same thing, or something close to it.) Maybe you can find it at a lower price. In my experience, if I find I spent too much on an item, some of the joy goes out of the purchase. In order to avoid buyer’s remorse, I shop around and get the best deal I can.

9. Can I Borrow What I Need From Somebody Else

Maybe you need (really need) something—let’s say a piece of construction equipment—and maybe you have enough

extra cash that you could afford to buy it. That given, how often are you going to use this thing? Once … or twice? What are you going to do with it then? Put it in permanent storage? Maybe in the back of your garage or attic? Could you rent this thing instead? Some of the chain hardware stores like Home Depot have rental desks.

Or, why not check with your friends and neighbors to see if there’s one you could borrow? A few years ago my oldest son moved into a nice neighborhood. The houses were all 20 to 30 years old. As he met neighbors, he found that many of them were involved in updating and renovation projects on their houses. They’d already set up a pool of resources for construction, finishing, and yard work. He was happy to get in on that. He had a few specialized tools he could supply, but his big contribution was a turkey fryer. For years now, he’s up early on Thanksgiving morning heating the oil so he can fry several turkeys, one after another, as his friends gather and hang out talking football. Sometimes a wife or some kids come along to visit, so his whole family gets in on the fun. (There’s a lot of coming and going.) He finishes up around noon when everyone has gone to put the final touches on their celebrations.

Renting or borrowing can be a great way to avoid buyer’s remorse.

10. Where Am I Going To Put This Item (Storage)

Storage is more than finding a place to stick something. The item needs to be safe from the environment and not be a safety issue itself.  There are certain tools and cleaners you don’t want children to have access to. Keep your family, friends, and pets safe. Properly store your equipment.  If you can’t store something safely, it’s not worth having. Think of the remorse you would have if an accident happened. If you can’t care for something long-term think about renting or borrowing.

11. Is There A Return Policy

Can you return it if you buy something and don’t like it? How long do they give you to take it back? Will they charge you a stocking fee, if you return it? Make sure you are familiar with the return policy on any item you buy. A good return policy may not help you avoid buyer’s remorse, but it can help you resolve it with satisfaction.

Conclusion

In this article, I have given you 11 Ways To Help You Avoid Buyer’s Remorse.

People look for reasons to buy something. And, just about any reason (or excuse) will do. Of course, we’re going to buy stuff/things, but too often, we’ll purchase without thinking it through. I look for reasons to not buy, at least not on impulse. Going back for something after I’ve compared prices, thought about how the purchase will affect me in the long run, alternatives, etc. is a good way to avoid buyer’s remorse.