Why I Suck At Shopping

{ December 24th, 2007 }

I have got a Christmas shopping induced thinking spree on my hands. Buying gifts for my wife was hard this year. I had a lot of doubt circling around in my noggin about what gift I should get and if my wife would like it or not. Now my wife isn’t particularly picky or hard to please - I just have a serious (well, its not life threatening serious) problem with shopping.

For some reason I despise it. I mean I like buying stuff and all, especially when it is cool, but there is just something about actually buying things that touches this place of deep uneasiness within. I get pounded with uncertainty. Am I making the right purchase? Is a better deal out there just waiting for me to find it? Can I do something else with this money that would be better for my family, for me, or for the world? The longer I think about it, the deeper the uncertainty goes.

Sometimes it is enough to stop me from making a purchase, especially if it’s a big one. When I was in the market for a laptop a few months ago I simply could not make a decision about what to get. I looked at Dell, HP, Lenovo - I even toyed with the idea of building my own machine (that idea was quickly shot down by my wife who said, and I summarize, “Computers one would make oneself suck. They always break.” The impersonal, objective pronoun here is to completely distance the reader from supposing the I was the only person my wife was referring to. In fact, if she had let me build my own machine it would not have broken … in the first month … probably.) Needless to say the thought of missing the deal of the century was stopping me cold. If it wasn’t for the generosity of a family member who felt like we had a gift coming I’d probably be typing this post on my COMPY 386. Its definitely much easier to spend someone else’s money than my own.

I can’t imagine what I am going to be like once one of our cars dies. I am assuming that the pressure from needing a car right away on one side and the pressure not to miss the deal of the century on the other side will drive me to the breaking point. I’m sure it will be good for me though. Maybe it will force me to grow a little bit.

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4 Responses to “Why I Suck At Shopping”

1
4Life
January 1st, 2008 at 8:31 am
Most men are not born with the shopping gene. There are a few blessed men who can pull it off. I am not one of them. Unlike your wife, mine is extremely picky. “If you really loved me you would have known what I really wanted and got it…” Needless to say gift giving occasions are not my favorite time of the year.

Best Wishes,
Dividends4Life
2
Steward
January 1st, 2008 at 10:06 pm
@4life - Reading anyones mind can be an impossible task, especially when we have to do it with those that we love. I think what makes it particularly hard is that I want to honor and please them, but I feel like I am doomed to get it wrong. The best I have been able to do with this type of person is to talk with them and try to get the clearest understanding I possibly can. It doesn’t always work, but at least its something that sometimes works.
3
Free From Broke
January 2nd, 2008 at 7:59 am
You’re probably better off not jumping into buying. I can shop but I like to take my time to make sure I’m getting a good product that I will use and will last. Certainly being an impulsive shopper is not a better way!
4
Steward
January 2nd, 2008 at 1:37 pm
@free from broke - I definitely agree, impulsive shopping equals a certain and painful death - of sorts. But I think what really gets me are decisions that have a heavy price tag and are urgently necessary. It might be like having a severe cut that is getting all over the place and reminding you exactly why you don’t have nice things. You certainly don’t want to get a massive bill by going to the emergency room, but then again you don’t want to continue bleeding out either. The choice still needs to be made, and needs to be made urgently!

Now that I think about it, it may be a good idea to start looking at the automobile market to get an idea of just how much a car could cost us. Thanks for your comment, it has helped me give this a little more thought.

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