Saving Money – Don’t Touch!

I’m a big fan of Clark Howard, and his column this week was really thought provoking for me.  He talks about how research now shows that touching an item in the store makes you feel a sense of ownership toward it, and makes you more likely to overpay for it.

It got me to thinking about visualization, and how it can be used for both positive and negative budgeting purposes.  For example, let’s say you want a new computer.  If you go to the Apple Store and play around with the one you want, according to Clark’s article you are more likely to overpay for it.  However, visualizing your end goal is one of the best ways to achieve it.  So, how do you use visualization to your benefit?

In general, I feel that it really depends on your shopping habits.  If you are a “shopaholic”, then you really should visualize the item only when you are tempted to spend your savings on a totally different item.  In our computer example, if you are saving for a computer but then are tempted by a purse, visualize the computer and hopefully it will curb your temptation.  If I’m saving for something, I like to put a little card in my wallet in front of my credit card reminding me of my goals.

If you are a saver, and not a shopaholic, then definitely visualize your goal.  Visualizing can help you really get into a saving mindset, because it makes your goal tangible.

Happy saving!