My Buyer’s Remorse; a Lesson in Frugality.
Posted: October 7th, 2008 | Author: Joe | Filed under: spending | Tags: Frugal, Lessons, spending | 2 Comments »
We’ve all had buyer’s remorse at some point in our lives. I remember my first time. I was probably 7 or 8 and I received some birthday money from my grandparents.
My best friend also had some birthday money saved up and the new mall had just opened in the next town. So we loaded into the car with my parents and drove off to that new, shining city.
After traipsing around what must have been acres of shiny new mall, we settled on a gaming store. This was in the early 80′s when PC games were the new “it”.
Anyway, long story short, I bought the hot new game that cost my entire savings, and my friend bought the value pack of 7 games for the same price. I can still remember my parents pointing out that my friend was making a much wiser purchase than I, and perhaps it was that reason my pig-headedness came out and I stood firm.
The game, of course, was not worth the money and I felt like a total shlub for wasting my birthday money on it. It was made all the worse by the fact that my friend got some really fun games for his money.
I learned a lesson about frugality on that day.
The result is that I don’t spend money often, and when I do it’s with a great deal of forethought and analysis. So much so, my wife often thinks I lack any and all spontaneity. Unfortunately, she’s right in many ways. Of course, I argue that spontaneity in spending is almost always a bad thing.
What’s your earliest financial memory and how did it shape your financial future?
Photo: “Remorse” by Jennifer Buehrer
We’ve all been there and done that! We’re especially working hard with our kids to encourage patience and frugality. Have to admit that in our house, my wife’s the real frugal one. I’m the gotta go out and buy it now, one!
@Pizza…
Sounds like you’ve got a handle on the most important thing – teaching your children!
Best of luck and thanks for stopping by.