![]() ![]() It’s my foolproof (though not Frugal Hound-proof or Babywoods-proof… ) method for ceasing the desire to impulse shop. The over 9,400 folks participating in my Uber Frugal Month Challenge (which, by the way, you can sign-up to join at any time!) already know what I’m going to say here. Indeed we are not rats, but there’s wisdom to extract from the concept of interrupting the cycle of instant gratification. Conversely, if a rat presses the lever and receives a treat sometime in the next 7-10 business days, it’s unlikely he’ll become addicted to pressing the lever. Receiving the treat instantly gives the rat a jolt of dopamine and he likes this! But he’s now going to require ever-more treats for ever-greater dopamine hits. Here’s an illustration: if a rat in a cage learns he can press a lever and receive a treat immediately, he’s going to press that lever over and over and over again. Instant gratification ramps up our expectations and speeds us along the consumer carousel of endless want. ![]() And the faster we receive our desires, the more we want. These barriers to entry also slowed our purchasing–we’re probably less likely to drive to Target at 11pm to buy new shoes, but if we can order them in our jammies from the couch while sipping wine and watching Call The Midwife? You can guess what we’re going to do. During those delays, we got to anticipate our purchase and revel in the “newness factor” for far longer than same-day shipping allows. Sure, in the past we could go to a store or order stuff from a catalogue, but there were a few built-in delays there: one had to take the time to actually go to the store and mail-order took at least a week to arrive. The fact that you can order something on Amazon in the morning and have it on your doorstep that evening has shortened the cycle of desire and fulfillment, which has a pernicious underside: it causes us to want more. The speed at which our desires can be fulfilled is unique to our modern, consumerist culture. ![]() But I think we all have quite a bit more self-control. Or at least, that’s what marketers want us to believe. And that’s just online! In stores we confront tantalizing displays of scrumptious goodies we didn’t even know we needed–but now we NEED them. Retailers have figured out that the easier they make it for us to part with our money, the more likely we are to do it–over and over and over again.įree shipping (ahem, Amazon Prime… ), immediate shipping (ahem, Amazon Prime again… ), and recommendations of “things you might like” inundate us and wear away at our frugal resolve. Through apps and drive-throughs, we’ve essentially eliminated the art of delayed gratification.Īnd this is especially pervasive where shopping is concerned. Everything is convenience-oriented and super fast and immediately available. ![]()
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