The urge to spave

12 September 2013
Reading time: 4 minutes

Posted by Tom Hartmann, 51 comments

Spending to save. In this language mash-up, we bring you ‘spaving’ – the questionable idea that you can save money by spending it. You’ll know it if you’ve ever felt the urge.

Spaving happens when the reason we’re spending is not because we need or even want something, but because we think we’re saving money. We tally the supposed savings in our heads instead of noticing how much we’re out of pocket in the process.

And if we’re talking about truly saving money, in the sense of accumulating wealth, spaving is a mathematical impossibility: you can’t really save if you’re spending, right?

Spaved with good intentions

You’ve queued up extra early for the department store sale, looking forward to getting $150 worth of clothes for $100. You find something flattering, but you haven’t reached $100 yet, so you throw in a few more things that don’t quite fit… but they may someday.
You’ve headed to a hardware chain, looking for a $4 ball of string. You emerge with a circular saw marked down by $80. You’ll use it someday, especially for more jobs that require even more… hardware. (“Lower prices are just the beginning...”)
You’re trolleying up and down the supermarket aisles, looking for washing powder in bulk. You’ve got room to store more at home, so why not stock up and save? You end up overlooking that one 2kg box is actually more expensive than two 1kg ones.
You’re on to the Christmas sales in February – way ahead of yourself and scoring serious deals for next year’s gifts. It’s always good to have extra presents at the ready, and you can always give them away, right? When December comes, however, the kids have moved on – they’re asking Santa for entirely different things.

Retail spin

Retailers love the idea of spaving, and for good reason – it helps them sell more. Although they might take a loss on some products, they know they’ll make it back by selling more volume. That’s why we often can get those low prices only by buying significantly more stuff.

Retailers already have their plan for your money – do you have yours?

The other thing that’s going on here is something called ‘anchoring’, which retailers use to fix in our minds what something usually costs. We all compare prices by anchoring to something and comparing the difference.

Once that anchor is in place, retailers can then use a teaser rate that’s much lower in order to make us feel like we’re saving huge amounts. And everyone loves a good deal.

Spaving is not bargain hunting

“It’s not a bargain if you don’t need it,” a friend’s grandmother used to advise. Truer words were never spoken.

Remember, just because you’ve found a coupon or a deal on something, it doesn’t mean you really need or even want it. If you end up buying it anyway, that’s just spaving.

If it’s ‘buy two for the price of one' and you don’t really need two, that’s just spaving. Take T-shirts, for example, at one for $20 or two for $30. If you buy two, you’ll have saved $10, but you’ll really have spent $10 more than you needed or wanted to.

In contrast, here’s what a real bargain looks like. Not long ago, a colleague saw a stunning red, reversible blazer in a shop window, went in and tried it on, but decided that the $380 price tag didn’t fit her plan. Months later, she was thrilled to find the same blazer had been marked down to $58! (And since it’s reversible, that’s only $29 per jacket…)

A true find, and no spaving in sight.

Put it in writing

Women's work

Comments

demarcus cousins the III | 18 March 22

spaving sounds confusing
Riley | 18 October 21

I don't think spaving is a good choice for managing your money. take the T-shirt example for instance it says that you are saving 10 dollars but if you only need one T-shirt the only way you save by buying two is if you sell one.
Fynn Sattler | 5 October 21

It sounds like a good idea but I don't think that is the best option because it would not help you if you bought something that you don't need.
Fynn Sattler | 5 October 21

It sounds like a good idea but it also sounds like a trap to make you spend money so I don't fully believe it's the best thing to do.
liam carter | 27 September 21

saving is not buying cheap ripped clothes or buying in sale times it means saving money when you don't need that item just buy when you need it!
Joshua | 30 August 21

Spaving is a hook to pull you in to their money spending trap
Anonymous | 17 August 21

It is good to know about spaving. Especially when you are shopping.
Zak | 15 August 21

Spaving is a good, but also bad if you consentley over spend
Tyson | 3 August 21

Advertising is the way business' are able to sell more items. By having sales people are more likely to impulse buy as they think they are getting a good deal. This is spaving. Buying something you didn't plan to buy but purchasing it because it's on sale.
Anonymous | 9 June 21

I think spaving is one of the main reasons that people spend more than what their budget might be, it is important to be aware of how easy it is to spave. But in some situations spaving could be good if you can get your second item for cheaper if you needed it.