Budget Musings: Is that deal really such a good idea?

I love a good deal as much as the next girl but sometimes you have to sit back and realize that despite the great price, you should not purchase an item. Why? Because you were not thinking about it purchasing it before you saw the deal. You had no need for this item. You don't even have it on your wish list of luxuries you are saving up for. Spending money on something that you don't need, no matter how cheap it is, is wasting money.

This of course does not apply to free items or fancy items that you are purchasing for super cheap in order to resell on ebay. That is a money generating scheme and the subject of an entirely different post (stay tuned!). Suffice it to say that for that plan to work you need to be sure this item will sell. Otherwise you are going to be stuck with it.

Finding deals is about making your budget go further. For instance if you had budgeted 100$ for various groceries this month and then found great deals on lots of them you may be able to spend only 50$ on groceries. The remaining 50$ gets put into the bank. After all, saving is not about buying more it's about buying the same items for less.