With the topic of how to spend less money i think they are really good ideas that i wish will work. I hate when you go shopping and some employee is also bothering you asking you if you need help finding anything and it gets on my nerves. I just wna to be left alone to enjoy my shopping alone.

That said, I CONSTANTLY linger around at best buys, sometimes spending an hour or longer in there. I could only imagine these ‘followers’ trying to figure out what I’m doing because I’m all over the place

I read this book a few years ago [I work for the giant chain bookstore] and loved it. If you’re into that sort of thing, pick up “The Call of the Mall” by the same author. Underhill also wrote the forward to a book called “Buyology” that was just released today–it looks to be about the same topics and I’m itching to give it a read.

It’s really fascinating stuff and I promise you won’t look at the grocery store or the mall the same way! I recommend it to my customers. Both of Underhill’s books are in paperback now if I remember correctly.

I don’t agree with this conclusion. I’m more inclined to believe that a higher proportion of men purchase clothes after trying them on because the men’s off-the-rack clothes are more likely to fit them than are women’s.

Good gourd, I’d love to fit into just half of the clothes that I try on that are my size.

I’m really down too, actually. Why? I just got laid off today.

I wrote a little bit about it on my blog:

http://www.smartpassiveincome.com

Tough times, but we’ll get through it!

I hope you have some nice soup to make you feel better.

Only go in stores with concrete floors.
Shop less every 3-4 weeks
No kids!
Carry cash
Bring a list and get those items first

http://downwithdebt.today.com/

I made an exception this past weekend, buying a bunch of apples for a pie I made for a church potluck, and a few other things we actually needed.

By the way, has anybody else noticed that grocery stores no longer seem to have any scales around, in the produce section or bulk foods? I know they often weren’t accurate, but it certainly seems to me that they are trying to get us to buy more quantity, and then charge by the pound. It can be tough to estimate sometimes.

But the longer I spend in a clothing/specialty/household item shop the LESS likely. I start to look at my selections and second guess. If I spend long enough I will put everything back on the rack, even if it’s stuff I really do need (like new work clothes/shoes).

So if I need something I order it online (better anyway because at 6′ most clothing shops don’t carry much that fits).

http://www.101WaystoMagnetizeMoney.com
Christine Groth

Also I just recently started using Sam’s Club click and pull feature, where you order what you want online and they do your shopping, then you just have to walk in grab your cart and check out through customer service. This is saving me TONS in impluse buys!

Wife: Oreos are 2 for the price of 1. Should we get it?
Me: No.
Wife: Are you sure? It’s a great deal!
Me: Yes, I’m sure.
We continue shopping and pass by the display again.
Wife: Honey, I think we should get oreos.
Me: Why?
Wife: They’re so cheap! We’ll never see them this cheap again.
Me: Fine get them.

So we bought them. Here’s the kicker: I was avoiding sweets, and my wife doesn’t like oreos! We bought two packages of cookies for our 3 year old? I assumed my wife really wanted them because she kept pestering me. But the fact it, my wife cannot pass up a deal even if she doesn’t want the product. To me this is insanity. Of course I’m acurmudgeon that hates shopping.

Thanks for the review, J.D. Get well soon!

I enjoyed the list of ideas for “How to spend less.” It reminded that a new Kroger grocery store recently opened in our town and the shopping carts were much larger than the old carts. It was billed as a “convenience” for large families to stock up on their sale prices, but I knew what they were really up to…sneaky, sneaky!

Lidia, that is a huge weak point for me. I’m VERY good about small purchases, but I tend to be more more careless about the larger ones.

Ariely talks about similar concepts – like when something is priced low we will care about differences in price. Driving across town for a $5 item to avoid paying $7 at the local expensive store. But when a big ticket item varies by a few dollars…or even more…we tend to overlook the difference because we’re already paying so much.

My shopping is under control enough for me, but there are times I catch myself thinking about that book and how I’m acting irrationally about a purchase.

I wonder what the author’s perspective would be on larger purchases. Does the same shopper mentality apply, or are people less susceptible since more planning is (or should be) involved?

“Amid so much science, we discover in the end it’s love that makes the world of retailing go round.”

There was a NYT article recently about a family who bought a $55k boat as the economy spirals downward. After reading the article, I could see why the purchase was considered an investment…

http://renaissancetrophywife.wordpress.com/2008/10/21/a-true-investment/

What’s your take on it?

Even from the seller perspective I still don’t think this book went deep enough. And for a consumer trying to be more frugal (but am I *really*?) it was not a good read.

I’m sometimes surprised by what makes me not buy things. I went into Best Buy a few months ago, hoping to look at digital cameras, and dove right back out when I realized that the place was threatening– loud music, lots of people, loud music again. When I was traveling, a lot of senoras lost sales by asking me if I was looking for anything in particular; I retreated because I don’t like interacting with people hugely and haggling freaks me out.
Secret to saving money: build up anxiety about consumer situations.

Caleb
http://www.mefinanciallyfree.blogspot.com