Three Signs of Buyer Remorse

What is a Buyer’s Remorse?

Buyer remorse or regret is sometimes baked into the buying process. And the more you spend, the greater the remorse. Anxiety often means the buy wasn’t bad, but something about it didn’t work out. 

But what exactly is buyer remorse, and is it neurosis or even a mental illness? On the latter point, probably not.

The three feelings associated with buyer remorse: 

• Depression
• Anxiety 
• Regret

What Are These Emotions?

Depression is when we’re angry with ourselves, so that occurs when we make the wrong buying decision or the wrong budget decision. Anxiety occurs and invokes fear, dread, or uneasiness about a purchase. People just overextend themselves, buying beyond their means.

And uneasiness would probably be caused by similar things. Regret is accompanied by sadness and disappointment. Often, the scale of the mistake seems overwhelming, and we can’t do much with spilled milk but get beyond it.

How to Avoid Buyer’s Remorse?

The great painter Pablo Picasso used to lament that he wished to make his masterpieces functional! We buy decorative stuff for the home that doesn’t work, wall hangings that say absolutely nothing, or that only speak of our prosperity. To avoid Buyer’s remorse, try buying meaningful things.

You could go to art shows or studios and buy worthwhile decorative stuff with the same amount of money. Or take up antiquing. Antiques are an excellent investment. 

Much stuff is purchased because it’s a pursuit of a passion, say gardening or creative things like painting. All the accessories one could use in an art studio add up to interesting stuff, likely to ward off buyer remorse. Maybe we should purchase music instruction, foreign language software, or that kind of thing. In other words, follow your passion, and avoid buyer remorse.

When Buyer’s Remorse Looks Expensive

One problem with buying vanity stuff is that it may never get used. A Gucci purse could hang out forever in a closet, and the owner might bring it down and show it off occasionally. Or it’s too priceless ever to replace, so the owner never uses it. If the owner never takes it out, it won’t break!

A personal item that one’s children remember years later actually gets used, for years and years. Would a purse like that, especially if it costs thousands of dollars, be loved? It becomes a family heirloom if worn out, while nobody else would likely appreciate it. 

On the other hand, that cool sports car that cost you significant money may appreciate over time, but not if you drive the wheels off it. It’ll just be worn out, consumed. In that case, rarely use the darned thing and never regret buying it. It will return the initial investment years down the road. 

List Stuff You’ll Regret Buying, and Avoid the Purchase

• Pricey cosmetic products nobody dares use
• Workout equipment
• expensive candles
• Cross-country skiing
• Binoculars
• Expensive clothes waiting in the closet for that perfect moment to use, a moment that never arrives. 

Then, there are purchases to meet one-time needs, for example, cordless power drills or leaf blowers. If you use it once, it might convince you never to take that thing out again. Did you ever hope your neighbor would come by your garage, borrow stuff, and never return it? 

When You Buy Something Just Because it’s Cool, or an Annual Purchase, Can You Avoid It?

The apparent item to most consumers is a new smartphone every year. Besides the once-a-year must-purchase, what’s with that? You shell out almost $1000 for a phone that does only a little more than last year’s for all practical purposes. 

Did you really buy that fitness watch to use, or is it still in the box years later? It’s an excellent purchase, but not something you need or even want. When you consider a fitness watch, is it something you want, or is it something you need?

Can You Avoid Buying Something Too Big For Your Budget?

Living beyond your means happens when you buy something too big for your budget. During the holidays, it is an okay thing to do. Indeed, you can borrow from Pete to pay Paul in the budget. After all, it’s the holidays! Just borrow from one of your other funds to cover the cost.

Still, this problem can be avoided by making a shopping list and sticking to it, going for store discounts and sales, comparing prices when you shop, and using up your gift cards. That generates greater satisfaction with shopping. You may still impulsively buy something too big for your budget, but you’ve hedged against genuine buyer remorse. 

When something’s too expensive

A personal finance advisor might have ideas about buying stuff beyond your means. An advisor might suggest you put it on a credit card, assuming you can find the funds before the end of the month to pay it off. There’s also such a thing as “layaway.” And finally, the best advice is to save up for something until you can afford it. 

Stuff people buy that’s outside their budget includes gifts for other people, extras you purchase when you buy necessities, an unscheduled trip to the beauty salon, subscriptions to streaming channels and newspapers, buying clothes, and paying for unscheduled events, like the niece’s wedding gift you plumb forgot. 

What’s the Worst Purchase You Ever Made?

Personally? I bought a camera system with all the bells and whistles from a teacher in high school, but it turned out to have very few whistles indeed. I discovered my great ignorance of cameras, in that instance. So, in addition to buyer remorse, my memory of that teacher is forever sullied. 

You might buy a car that’s ultimately a lemon, and that after you experienced item blindness when you purchased it. Or your college paper’s editor sells you a truck with a bad header, that blows a month later. That happened to me.

The thing about making bad purchases when you’re young is that it doesn’t matter. In fact, you can pick up valuable experience and what amounts to a street education when you make bad purchases. 

Failure to buy great stuff is really just a measure of success. For the young, you pulled out your wallet, took your hard-earned money, and purchased something. You became a consumer. Cool. 

Buying Stuff for People They Didn’t Want

Sometimes, buying clothes and personal stuff for people who don’t appreciate it can be a bummer. Christmas gifts are a big deal, but putting cash in people’s hands with a money gift or gift card puts the responsibility for buying stuff into the recipient’s hands. Go for that! Every time!

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