Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying Something
Twenty questions to run through before a purchase, whether that is a quick pause at the checkout or a longer look at something expensive. Covers running costs, cost per use, what the item replaces, and what is usually behind the urge to buy it today.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What problem is this solving, and what am I doing about that problem now?
Why ask it
If you can describe the current workaround, you can judge how much the upgrade is worth. When the honest answer is that there is no problem, you are buying an idea rather than a solution, which is fine as long as you know that is the purchase.
Where exactly will it live?
Why ask it
A specific shelf, drawer or corner, not a vague sense that there is room. Anything with no home ends up on the floor, in a cupboard you have to empty, or in storage you pay for, and that is part of the price.
Would I want this at full price?
Why ask it
Discounts change what feels like a good deal without changing what the thing is worth to you. If the answer is no, the sale is doing the deciding, and the money saved against the original price was never yours to begin with.
Do I already own something that does most of this?
Why ask it
Go and look rather than trying to remember. Kitchens, toolboxes and wardrobes are full of near-duplicates bought because the existing one was slightly annoying, and the new one is usually slightly annoying in a different way.
How many times will I use it in the next twelve months?
Why ask it
Write a number, then divide the price by it. Doing this honestly is what separates a jacket you wear weekly from a machine used twice, and it is the fastest way to see that the expensive thing is sometimes the cheaper one.
Am I buying the item, or the version of myself who would use it?
Why ask it
Bread makers, road bikes, language courses and camera lenses are commonly bought as intentions. If the purchase depends on becoming a different sort of person first, buy the cheap version and see whether the habit appears.
What does it cost after I have bought it?
Why ask it
Refills, cartridges, a subscription to unlock features, insurance, servicing, storage, fuel, batteries, cases, a bigger bag to carry it in. Printers, coffee machines and cars are all cheap compared with owning them, and the running total is where the surprise lands.
If it broke in the second year, would I repair it, replace it, or do without?
Why ask it
The answer tells you how much you actually value it and whether you should buy the durable version. If you would do without, that is worth knowing before you spend rather than after.
What am I not buying if I buy this?
Why ask it
Name the specific alternative: two months of a debt payment, a weekend away, the repair you have been putting off. Comparing against a real alternative is far more effective than comparing against an abstract idea of saving.
Is this money already committed to something else this month?
Why ask it
Look at the actual balance and the bills still to come, not at what the account said this morning. Most regretted purchases were affordable in isolation and only became a problem alongside the rent, the insurance renewal and the car.
Am I paying over time, and what is the total if I do?
Why ask it
Work out the full sum including interest or fees, and note that installment plans deliberately make the monthly number the salient one. If the item is only affordable spread over a year, that is a statement about the price rather than about the payment plan.
What made me think about this today?
Why ask it
An ad, a friend's purchase, a bad day, a sale email, half an hour of scrolling. The trigger does not make the purchase wrong, but noticing it tells you whether the desire came from your life or from someone's marketing calendar.
If the offer had ended an hour ago, would I still want it?
Why ask it
Countdown timers, low stock warnings and limited runs are designed to convert hesitation into a purchase. Removing the deadline in your head is the cleanest way to see whether you want the object or just do not want to miss out.
Have I read the two-star reviews?
Why ask it
One-star reviews are often about delivery and five-star reviews are frequently written on day one. The middle ones describe what breaks after six months and what the item cannot do, which is the information you are actually looking for.
Would the cheapest acceptable version do?
Why ask it
Ask what the extra money buys and whether you would notice it in use. For occasional or first-time use the basic model is usually enough, and if it wears out you will then know exactly which features you missed.
Could I borrow, rent, or buy it used?
Why ask it
Tools, formal clothes, camping gear, baby equipment and party supplies are all cheaper to borrow or rent, and many are barely used before resale. It also tests the need at low cost, which is the point.
What does returning it actually involve?
Why ask it
Check the window, who pays return shipping, whether there is a restocking fee, and whether you would need the original box. A generous-sounding policy that requires repackaging and a courier drop-off is one most people never use.
What happens if I wait a week?
Why ask it
Put it on a list with the date instead of buying it now. A good proportion of wants fade within days, and the ones that survive are worth having; if the price changes in the meantime, that is information too.
Who would I mention this to, and who would I rather not?
Why ask it
Reluctance to tell a partner, a friend or yourself in a month is usually a sign you already suspect the answer. It is a quick emotional check that costs nothing at the checkout.
In a year, will this be in use, in a cupboard, or gone?
Why ask it
Answer from your own record rather than your intentions. If you can name three past purchases of the same kind that ended in a cupboard, the pattern is more predictive than your enthusiasm today.
Deciding Well About Money
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Habits That Do the Work for You
Keep one waiting list with dates
Everything above a threshold you set, say fifty or a hundred, goes on the list with the date you wanted it. Review it weekly. Most entries stop mattering, and the ones you buy afterwards are the ones you keep.
Reduce the number of decisions you have to make
Unsubscribe from retail email, remove saved cards, uninstall the app you browse in bed. Self-control at the checkout is a poor system; not being at the checkout is a better one.
Look at what you own first
Before buying anything for the kitchen, the garage, the office or the wardrobe, physically check the relevant cupboard. This single step catches duplicates and reminds you why the last similar purchase went unused.
Buy the cheap version of a new hobby
Start with borrowed, rented or secondhand equipment for the first month or two. If the interest holds, you will know which features matter and can buy once, properly, instead of twice.
Price things in hours, occasionally
Converting a price into hours of your own work is uncomfortable and clarifying, and it works particularly well on the middle-sized purchases that slip through unexamined because they are not big enough to think about.
Two Checks
The two-minute pause at the checkout
- 1Say out loud what problem this solves and what you do about it now.
- 2Name where it will live.
- 3Estimate uses in the next year and divide the price by that number.
- 4Add the running costs: refills, subscription, insurance, storage.
- 5Close the tab and put it on your waiting list with today's date.
For anything large or long-lived
- 1Write the maximum you will spend before you start looking, and what it has to do.
- 2Read the two- and three-star reviews, plus one owner discussion thread that is over a year old.
- 3Price the used market and the rental option for comparison.
- 4Check repairability: spare parts, servicing, and what a common failure costs to fix.
- 5Check the return window, the warranty length and what it excludes.
- 6Sleep on it once you have the numbers, then buy without revisiting the research.
Where Money Leaks
- Spending more to qualify for free delivery. The threshold exists to raise the basket total, and the filler item is almost always worth less than the shipping it saves.
- Buying the professional model for a beginner interest. The extra capability goes unused, and the complexity sometimes puts people off the activity entirely.
- Replacing something that still works because a better one exists. The upgrade is judged against the ideal rather than against what you already have, which is a comparison nothing survives.
- Treating installment plans as a discount. Splitting a price into four makes it feel smaller while committing future money you have not yet allocated.
- Buying to fix a mood. It works for a few hours, which is exactly why it repeats, and the items bought this way are the ones most often unused.
- Keeping subscriptions because you already paid for a year. The money is gone either way; the only live question is whether you would sign up again today.
- Bundling a want into a legitimate need. The washing machine had to be replaced, but the accessories that came with it did not.