Why do We Buy Things We Don’t Really Need?

It happens to me sometimes too that I end up buying something I don’t really need. I buy it and a week or too later I realize that it was a wasting of money. Obviously when this happens I don’t go through the right decision making process. So, why do we end up buying things which don’t really make us happier? In fact later on paying credit card bills could be frustrating and painful. Here are a couple of things I could think of:

• It could be the commercials that influence us and convince us that we absolutely need something. It seems that everyone else has it. If we don’t have it we are filled with the anxiety of the outcast.
• Our friends and family members have it. It seems that their life is so much happier. It’s embarrassing when they talk about it and we don’t have it.
• Our kids are asking for something they absolutely need mainly due to peer pressure.
• Sometimes we buy something we already have but we can’t find it or just simply lazy to look for it in the garage, in the basement or in the attic.
• Sometimes we buy something for a real good (cheap) price and we didn’t pay attention to the quality. Later on we end up buying the same thing but this time we get the better quality.
• It happens that we talk about something then I buy it and my wife comes home with the same thing.
• We buy things simply because we are distracted in a store and we forget about what we really wanted in the first place.
• Sometimes we get a good deal on a larger package and most of it will end up in the trash.
• Often we forget to cancel a subscription and we have to pay for that.
• We want to try out something for free but after the free trial period we forget to cancel it.

Before you buy something you don’t really need, remember you could save that money or better invest it.