Buyer's Remorse!

The Budget Doctor's Advice on Regrets

Most consumers have felt that moment of anguish after making a purchase. Sometimes it is due to the size of the purchase, such as wondering if buying a new car was really a good idea. Sometimes it is due to the nature of the purchase, such as realizing that the shoes we just bought really aren't very comfortable. And sometimes, it is due to a lack of consideration and planning, such as finding that the same item was cheaper at another store.

Buyer's remorse is that somewhat sickening feeling we get after spending money that maybe should not have been spent. Luckily, the mind has a way of convincing ourselves that it was really OK. Research shows that most consumers feel that they made the right decision within a few days of making any purchase. Most people who bought an Edsel or a Yugo or a Daewoo, thought they had made a good choice and probably defend that choice yet today.

Odds are, we have all made some very bad purchase decisions. We may even acknowledge some of them although our minds have tried to make us feel better. And it is actually good to sometimes feel buyer's remorse. Buyer's remorse makes us think about our purchases and might make us think more carefully the next time we're faced with a buying decision.

Certainly it is possible to overdo buyer's remorse. If you pay $3.49 for a jar of peanut butter, you may well see it on sale for $2.99. Don't beat yourself up over 50 cents. No one can get the absolute lowest price on everything, every time.

The best way to avoid the terrible, embarrassing pain of buyer's remorse is to follow the Budget Doctor's plan for making purchases:

1. Plan purchases
   Spontaneous purchases can be as painful as spontaneous combustion. The bigger the purchase, the more planning is needed. By the time you actually buy a car you should have three written reviews of that model.
2. Comparison shop.
   Make sure that you know the lowest price available for anything you want to buy. That means rejecting a sale price until you can verify it is the best price.
3. Anticipate remorse
   Do you know the return policies at the places you shop? Do you know about lemon laws and other laws that permit returns under some circumstances? If you know you can return an item you are less likely to feel remorse.
4. Review your purchasing habits
   Look at your post-purchase habits. Do you have to return a lot of purchases? Do you have purchases with the tags still connected? Do you need to have garage sales every year to get rid of stuff you bought and don't need? Those are clues.

Understanding buyer's remorse is a good way to avoid it. The key is to recognize that life is about choices and every choice has consequences. Sometimes there are both good and bad consequences and we have to weigh choices carefully. Sometimes we feel remorse when we don't buy something, so the key to happiness is to be as careful as possible, make the best decision possible and then make the best of it.

Have you seen the current price for an Edsel? People who suffered buyer's remorse after buying one and then parked it for fifty years are getting their money back plus some.