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Planning & budgeting
The urge to spave
12 September 2013
Reading time: 4 minutes
Posted by Tom Hartmann,
72 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.
Comments (10)
Comments
Anonymous | 21 October 26
The comment "It's not a bargain if you don't need it" really struck me, as someone who's been around bargain hunters my whole life, and always hearing how some random buy of some new cleaning product that I've never heard of was "such a bargain". It really brings some clarity to my confusion. I always thought they were a little over the top and could have spent that money on something else that's actually worth more in the way it's used than said "bargain."
bean | 21 October 26
This was a good article on how to save properly.
Demetrius | 21 October 26
Yeah, my parents totally do this.
Anononnoonnononononymous | 21 October 26
This is a good way to save money. I love spaving. Spave spave so funny. It's a really funny word! Spread this around to others
Anonymous | 21 October 26
This was some great advice and extremely helpful. I can definitely relate to 'spaving' (spending to save). I also agree on how myself and others buy something thinking they are saving or will grow into something and end up not wearing it, throwing it out, or it gets lost in the back of your wardrobe. The quote mentioned, "It's not a bargain if you don't need it," is very accurate, as people will find bargains and convince themselves they need it when they don't. I find this hard to overcome, especially when I see things for half price! In the future, I aim to only buy things I need.
Anonymous | 21 October 26
This is a good solution to a problem that many people experience. 'Spaving' is a very easy trap to fall into and how you end up buying things that you do not need. I agree with the 'spaving is not a bargain' and I think that the advice of 'its not a bargain if you do not need it' is very wise.
Anonymous | 21 October 26
My thoughts on this are that I agree with it being balanced with both Saving and Spending is something that I feel like I agree with and it is something that I will start doing.
Anonymous | 21 October 26
I find spaving a hard thing to overcome. It is easy to 'see' a bargain in a shop window, to lure you in and empty your pockets.
anonymoose | 21 October 26
This advice was extremely helpful and informative. Spaving is the perfect solution to the problem of spending.
Anonymous | 16 June 26
My parents sometimes do this.
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