I love a good deal. Who doesn’t?  Ahhh, the thrill of that perfect find we get for a fraction of the list price.

But lately I find myself questioning whether the energy I put into searching for the bargain is really worth it.  I am having to redefine what IS and what IS NOT worth my time.

Flash back to this past Black Friday frenzy.  I usually do not pay any attention to this national shopping extravaganza.  But this year, I’m afraid to say, I got a bit caught up in it.  I had just bought a house and was also embarking full time into my own business, so I found myself needing a laundry list of high-ticket items; everything from a hot water heater to a new laptop.  So, I spent a month waiting for Black Friday weekend so I could utilize the “deals” and save a little moolah.

Here’s what happened:
I spent HOURS on the Home Depot site putting together an order of enough value to utilize a coupon.  (It was supposed to be a double deal coupon plus Black Friday special- oh boy!)  After a month of waiting, I was disappointed by the fact that nothing that went into my cart was actually on sale.  Then, I found out a week later that the deal never went through because my new credit card limit wasn’t sufficient to pay for it. To top it off, after they upped my credit limit to the amount I requested, it was too late to utilize the coupon and get my discount.

I did end up getting a great deal on a laptop, but it took a month to realize it wasn’t what I really wanted.  I wanted a Mac, for its ease of use but hadn’t even considered buying one having convinced myself I couldn’t afford it.  Once I got out of deal frenzy mode, I could slow down and see that even though the Macs are many hundreds of dollars more, the amount of time I would save from the ease of use would have been worth the investment tenfold.  I realized price really didn’t matter; value did. So now whenever I walk into a cafe with my oversized “good deal” of a laptop, I look around and have a little internal baby cry as I see everyone with their compact and easy to use Macs. Poor me.  Oh wait, pitying me wasn’t the point here….

So, in this aftermath I ask… did I get a deal?

Hell no!

I spent hours plotting that I would get a deal and ended up just wasting a bunch of my time and getting something that I didn’t want. This “deal” COST ME!

Can I possibly learn something from that time spent? God, let’s hope so.

Here’s the hard truth. We don’t ever get something for nothing.

Reality is: everything is an exchange. It is up us to decide if the exchange is worth it. To do so we need to get very clear about what we are giving and what we are getting.

When I jump for the deals, I am doing so for a few reasons. One of the main reasons for me, personally, is a feeling that I have a limited amount of resources to get what I need in life. Therefore, I constantly calculate how to get the most from the resources I have. This mental tallying never adds up to me having enough. This linear thinking leads me to impulsive decision making like jumping at bargains. (Which really aren’t bargains when you don’t need the thing.) My reasoning goes somewhat like this, “Maybe I can’t get enough, but I’ll get the most I can with what I have!” When I really stop and take a look, I can honestly say this belief is completely refuted by my actual experience. In truth, I have been very well taken care of in my life. What I really believe and have seen, from countless experiences, is that there is an endless well of inspiration, creativity and love inside myself and when I GIVE this freely, the universe gives back; the well NEVER runs dry. This means that there are actually endless resources available to me. There has never been a situation yet in my 41 years that has run counter to this. The universe is bountiful and each and every need can be fulfilled as it arises.

Another reason I jump at a deal is the fear of missing out. Deals usually have a time limit. This creates an urgency that puts me in a frenzy worrying that time may run out. Often, I just freeze in a panic of indecision that ends in me buying things because I cannot make a decision; my rationale being that I can return them later if I choose to do so. Needless to say, I make a lot of return trips- lol

Lastly, there is this sort of promise of pleasure from beating the system; like I am “winning” by getting more for less.

Again, is this worth it?  No, because when I feel like there’s something to beat, to win at, it infers that life is a game that I could possibly lose at it. Pretty unrewarding mindset to adopt.  Again, huge costs.

SO, this is the hard truth I’m facing: I don’t promote using deals or “fear of missing out” tactics in my own teaching. NEVER.   Yet here I am, in my personal life, buying into it. UGH.

But at the same time, it makes sense that this is now coming to light as I move more into speaking about what I see as my truth in the world of sales.  I need my internal beliefs to be exposed so I can take a clear look at them; make sure that they line up.

OK, universe, you got me… thank you.

So, here’s what I am proposing:  Let’s join forces to see if we can align our core values and beliefs with how we show up when we buy.  We do that by slowing down and objectively looking at what is being offered. What is its real value and true costs?  How do these exchanges make us feel?  It’s like balancing our internal checkbook.

I believe if we really do this full assessment of our own buying habits we will become more ethical in how we show up and sell to others.

Cheers to our bravery in choosing to look and being determined that if something makes us feel terrible, we can find another way!