Purchases Aren't Always About The Product

Let's say you bought a new pair of shoes.

Why?

"Because I liked them."

Okay.

Why did you like them?

"They looked better than the shoes I already had."
Why did that matter?

"I wanted something new to wear when I went out."
Why?

"Because I wanted to feel good about how I looked."

There it is.

Maybe you weren't just buying shoes.

You were buying a feeling.

Confidence.

There's nothing necessarily wrong with that.

The shoes might make you feel fantastic and you might wear them for years.

The point isn't to determine whether the purchase was good or bad.

The point is understanding what you were actually buying.

Sometimes the value of a purchase isn't the object itself. It's the feeling, experience or outcome we expect the object to give us.

Keep Asking Why

Let's try a bigger purchase.

You bought a new car.

Why?

"My old car was getting old."

Was it unreliable?

"Not really."

Was it becoming expensive to maintain?

"Not really."

Then why replace it?

"I wanted something nicer."

Why?

Now the answer gets interesting.

Maybe you wanted...

Comfort... The new car is quieter and easier to drive.

Security... You feel better knowing you have a newer vehicle.

Convenience... You wanted newer technology and features.

Status... You like how you feel pulling up in it.

Belonging... People around you drive newer vehicles and your old one started feeling out of place.

Reward... You've worked hard and wanted something that represented your success.

None of these automatically makes buying the car wrong.

But understanding the real motivation gives you something much more valuable than a judgment.

It gives you self-awareness.

What Were You Really Trying To Buy

Money can buy things.

But sometimes we're using those things to buy something else.

We buy convenience because we're exhausted.

We buy entertainment because we're bored.

We buy something expensive because we want to feel successful.

We buy for our children because seeing them happy makes us happy.

We buy something new because we're tired of what we already

have.

We buy during a difficult week because we feel like we deserve something.

We buy something everyone else has because we don't want to feel left out.

Sometimes we even buy things because we're trying to become the person we imagine owning them.

Again, none of this means the purchase was wrong.

But there's value in recognizing the difference between...

"I bought this because I needed it."

and

"I bought this because of how I thought it would make me feel."

You don't have to regret the purchase to learn from it.

Perform a Purchase Autopsy

Pick one purchase you've already made.

Don't choose the worst financial decision of your life.

Just choose something interesting.

Then answer these questions honestly.

1. What did I buy?
Write down the actual purchase.

2. What reason did I give myself for buying it?
What was your justification at the time?

3. What triggered the purchase?
Did you see an advertisement?
Did someone else have one?
Were you replacing something?
Were you browsing because you were bored?
Was there a sale?

4. How was I feeling before I bought it?
Happy?
Stressed?
Bored?
Insecure?
Excited?
Tired?
Proud?

5. How did I expect the purchase to make me feel?
More confident?
More successful?
More comfortable?
Less stressed?
Included?
Rewarded?

6. How did I actually feel afterward?
Did the feeling last?

7. Do I still value the purchase today?
Would you miss it if it disappeared tomorrow?

8. Knowing what I know now, would I buy it again?
This may be the most important question.

Yes? Great.

You probably learned something about what genuinely brings value to your life.

No?
That's valuable too.

You just learned something that might change your next decision.

Get The 850 Pin!

It’s more than a number... it’s a symbol of the journey.

My journey started with free t-shirts and ended at 850.

What's yours?

👉Check out the 850 Pin

#850Journey #CreditComeback #YouGotThis