Advertisements are EVERYWHERE! Whether we like it or not, admit it or not, or are even aware of it or not – advertising influences our spending behavior. Marketers and advertisers know it or they wouldn’t continue to find new and innovative ways to grab our attention with their persistent and consistent messages that all boil down to “buy this”. Here are some simple things to help resist the bombardment.
- Stop watching commercials (even better – turn off cable and use netflix or hulu). Commercials have one goal – get you to want what they’re selling. Don’t watch commercials.
- Learn how to use the Unsubscribe link in your email. Every “deal” site wants a spot in your inbox, but many of us are buying stuff we wouldn’t buy otherwise because of these “deals”, or worse yet we buy the deal but then never use it. Click unsubscribe from those things.
- Tear up direct mail and return it in the prepaid envelope. Sounds mean, I know. But when we get in the habit of denying those “offers” we prevent getting more obligations we regret.
- When you get a coupon in the mail that says “$10 Off Your Purchase of $50 or More” sell it on ebay to someone who is already planning to spend $50 or more at that store. $10 off is not $10 saved if you have to spend $50 on something you don’t need.
- Learn the art of saying NO, not right now, maybe later, we don’t NEED that, or simply “that’s not in our budget”. If none of that works ask this question, “Which one of our goals are we going to rob from to spend this money?”
What would you add to this list?
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