5 Ways Sales Can Cost You More Money and How To Avoid It, According to Christina Mychas
Written by
J. Arky
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Zuri Anderson
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YouTuber Christina Mychas is on a mission to help average people save money by avoiding common mistakes. The self-described “Shopaholic-turned-minimalist-ish” proclaims that she wants to help you curate your life and style with less. One of the ways to do that is by knowing some key tactics to employ before you go shopping.
In her latest video “Why ‘Good Deals’ Are Keeping You Broke,” Mychas dove into how retailers and stores tempt customers with discounts and offers that feel too good to be true because they usually are.
Here are five ways sales can cost you more money and how to avoid it, according to Mychas.
5. Make Your Plan
Mychas offers a pretty simple notion: Have something in mind you want to buy, then stick to it when you are in shopping mode. Retailers are hoping you get distracted from your intended purchases and add to your cart with items you didn’t plan on buying.
“Do your best to focus on what you came for,” advised Mychas. “Get in, and get out.”
This stops you from picking up a deal you didn’t know you wanted and do not have the money to spend on it.
4. Set a Budget
“Budgeting completely changed my life,” shared Mychas. “That’s due to the simple fact that it gave me awareness and control over my money.” Mychas empathizes with shoppers who feel they do not need to account for what they plan on spending ahead of time, however, it ends up biting them at checkout.
Mychas encouraged viewers to create a budget, saying that for her it gave the flexibility and power to buy what she wanted, knowing exactly how much money she was spending, as well as where it was going.
3. Buy Only What You Actually Use
One of Mychas’ main shopping rules when it comes to sales is that if she is not willing to buy the item at full price, then she deducts that she is not willing to buy it by the time it goes on sale. This method has helped her not carelessly spend money on things she did not need, nor would use in the future.
“Along with this, it is important to take an inventory of exactly what you have,” advised Mychas, including how much you have, and if there is already a stockpile waiting for you to use at home.
Sales come and go and will always come back around, so you are never missing out on a deal for long.
2. Create a Fake Cart
Mychas broke down the notion that when it comes to sales, there is a trick our minds play on us: We are not satisfied by purchasing the product, rather the sense that we got a great deal on it.
“A nice way to get that little dopamine hit without actually spending any money is to fill up your online shopping cart with everything you see that you want,” the YouTuber said. “Then ghost it.”
Simply abandon the cart, exit out and call it a day. You’ll feel like you got a deal without spending a dime. Just make sure to avoid the “Did you forget something in your cart” emails that will start appearing in your inbox.
1. Take a Physical Inventory
What do you already have and do you really need more of it? This is the question that Mychas urged viewers to ask of themselves.
“It’s so easy to forget about everything you already own when you are caught up in all the new and shiny things,” she said, noting this is especially true when there is a deal being offered.
Taking stock of what you have and if you have space for it “unlocks the burden of bringing physical things into our space that we do not need and do not think about upfront when we buy it,” Mychas noted.
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