Well, yes and no. Well, no. Kind of – maybe. If you love it? Yes. Arrgh.
Buying something you really don’t need is hard when you’re saving for something like paying off debts or a house deposit or a mortgage.
But constantly denying yourself the things you love all the time is no good either … you’ll save plenty of money, but your life will be crappier as a result. I reckon there’s a few basic questions you should ask yourself before buying TYJDN (Things You Just Don’t Need), and this’ll help you make your decision.
* Is the thing a one-off? — That’s important for buying a piece of art, as opposed to (another) new pair of jeans
* Have you shopped around and made sure this thing is at a comparable price to other similar things? — That’s important for things like jewellery or electronics where the price for TYJDNs can differ hugely from brand to brand.
* What would happen if you didn’t buy it? — Since it’s a TYJDN, probably not much, but if it’s something like an extra activity while you’re on a holiday, what will happen is that you’d likely never be able to do that again. If that eats you up inside, buy it. If the thought of never doing it isn’t devastating, don’t buy it.
* Is there a reason you want it so much? — Does it go with your house, is it an incredibly unique colour, is there a particular reason you fell in love with the TYJDN? The reason would want to be a pretty good one.
* Are you able to go away, think about it, and come back? — Sometimes the desire to buy that kind of stuff (particularly clothes and handbags) passes if you decide to think about it and come back. If you find you haven’t been thinking about it constantly for the rest of the day after you first spied it, you don’t want it that much. Walk away. If it’s burning a hole in your heart, like really burning a hole in your heart, go back.
* Is it similar to something you already own? — If it is, walk. Away.
* Are you buying a TYJDN to cheer you up? — If you are, ring up a girlfriend and go for a glass of wine instead. That’ll be $193 cheaper than a vintage lamp you can’t actually fit into your bedroom anyway, and works way better than retail therapy.