How to Decide if a Product is Worth Purchasing - Stop Excessive Spending

Image by eszter via Flickr

Too many times we as consumers buy things for the one-time purpose, I've done it myself. Four years ago I bought expensive designer tennis shoes that I never wore because I didn't have a design outfit to match them(I sold them, at a lower price though than I paid). Maybe your guilty story doesn't involve sneakers, but maybe it was cosmetics, clothes, a luxury car, the latest tech gadget... I'm getting warmer, huh.

This habit needs to break, you're spending money on something that will not show you a long term gain in compared to the price you paid for it.

How to Break the Habit
A method I like to use is thinking in the long term when making either an expensive or a non- necessity purchase and question the validity of purchasing said product. Those questions are:

How will this product benefit me?
Will an upgrade or new model come out for this product soon(mainly pertaining to tech gadgets and cars)?
Can I wait until a sale approaches before buying the product?
Will I want this product a year from now?
Is this the best price I can get for the product?

Usually after asking myself those questions I can decide confidently whether I will purchase the product.

If you have anymore questions one should ask themselves before purchasing a product, please leave them in the comment section.