Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: I am on the phone with Mansa Musa and we are on this series right now, Mansa, that I'm really excited about because it's so practical. But we're talking about why we buy. And today we're going to talk about, is it really a bargain?
[00:00:15] Speaker B: Yeah. Last week we began the new series. Of course, we want to encourage people to go to take control Tuesday.com to check the archives out for this entire series. But last week we learned that retailers and online stores are designed to influence our buying decisions.
And our takeaway was simple. Before making an unplanned purchase, pause and ask yourself, why am I buying today? We're going to build on that. Have you ever seen something marked down from $200 to $99 and thought, wow, that's a great deal?
Maybe it is. Maybe it is, right? But here's a better question. Who says that's a bargain?
Who says it's a bargain? Most of us naturally compare 99 to $200. Retailers and online stores know we do that. In fact, there's a name for it. It's called anchoring. Anchoring is a consumer psychology principle that says the first price we see influences how we judge every price that follows. Oh, wow. The retailer gives us the anchor.
Our job is to decide whether today's price is actually a good value.
And let's talk about how we do that.
[00:01:40] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:01:41] Speaker B: First, don't let the retailer decide what a bargain is.
Take a minute, check another retailer. Look online, find out what the item normally sells for.
The goal isn't to find the biggest discount. The goal is to find a fair price.
Second, don't confuse saving money with spending money.
[00:02:05] Speaker A: Right.
[00:02:06] Speaker B: Something you really plan to buy goes on sale, that's great.
But if something you buy simply because it's on sale, you still spent money.
A discount doesn't make a purchase necessary.
Third, compare the purchase to your budget.
Even if you found a fair price, ask yourself, does this purchase make sense for my household right now, a good price on something you don't need can still be a bad financial decision.
So let's sum this up. We learned about anchoring today. Okay, that's the first price we see which influence every price that follows.
Remember, the retailer is providing the anchor. You decide what the product is worth.
So here's the challenge. Next time you see something on sale, don't ask, how much am I saving?
Instead, ask if I had never seen the original price.
What? I still think today's price is a fair value.
Be an intentional buyer, not just the consumer.
[00:03:19] Speaker A: Right? That is a great takeaway. And I tell you what, I had something in my cart on Amazon the other day and I did that, take a pause and decided that, yeah, it's not worth it. So I'm gonna take it a step step further next time. And as always, this is some great information, Mansa. And you can get this on our archives at takecontroltuesday. Com. Make sure you share this information and like it as well because it goes a long way in helping us as well, Mansa.
[00:03:52] Speaker B: Thank you, thank you.
