Buying Fever and Feet: Applying what I learned in “Financial Peace”

A lot of people have mixed feelings about the book‘s author Dave Ramsey. I did too. He comes across as blunt and less-than empathetic. However, after reading his book I understood him a lot more. He is very empathetic in his own way. He understands the pain that the lack of money or surplus of debt can cause in people’s lives, having lived through both himself. Now, he spends most of his time teaching others how to put their finances in order. He has a great radio show, which I’ve been listening to through his YouTube channel.

Buying Fever

In his book, Mr. Ramsey talks about getting “buying fever.” It’s when your brain starts releasing chemicals, and you get a little “high” in the process of buying something. You want something so badly, you start acting irrationally; you’re unable to think clearly. I got buying fever bad over something pretty small.

I wanted house shoes. I had a pair of alpargatas that I bought in Argentina that lasted me several years. I wore them out a few months ago, and had to throw them away. Since then, I’ve mostly worn my actual shoes around the house. It’s uncomfortable and inconvenient to wear them all the time (first world problems at it’s finest), and I finally decided enough is enough.

I remember I wore my friend’s sandals once to walk her dog. She just offered them to me to let them wear them, and I remember thinking they were the most comfortable shoe I’d ever worn. That sounds dramatic, but shoe comfort is important to me. Anyway, I set my sights on those and went to the mall. Don’t worry, mask included.

I got all the way to the mall when I remembered I had made a budget, and new sandals were not in it. I thought about buying them anyway, and making the budget work around it. I decided against it. Without even trying them on, I went home. About an hour or two later, I realized all I was thinking about was how badly I wanted to wear those sandals. I got back in my car, I put the mall’s location in my GPS, and luckily for me, the mall had just closed. No sandals for me…Unless?

I started googling shoe store after shoe store to find an open store. There was one store still open I was willing to drive an extra 40 minutes just to have those sandals right then. I took a deep breath, and I went back inside.

I decided that if I wanted them that badly, I probably had buying fever. Well, as right as I was, that didn’t stop me from going back outside and getting into my car a SECOND time. I had a good dialogue in my head as to why I needed them then. I was going on a trip the next day, and I really wanted to be comfortable while riding in the car for 3 hours. Also, I wanted to show them off to my friends. I got a few blocks down the road and turned around. I decided that the store would open before I left on my trip. If I wanted them that badly the next morning, I would get them.

The next day, I’m in in the shoe store. Their selection of sandals is pretty small, but they had the pair I wanted. I tried them on. They didn’t feel the same as I remembered when I borrowed my friend’s. I figured while I was there, I should go ahead and try on the other pairs. Maybe I remembered wrong. After trying on every pair they had, I found only 2 that I liked. One pair was $70, the other was in a reasonable price, but it was in an ugly color. It was getting time for me to meet my friends for our road-trip (sounds like a great way to save money, right?). Do I get the pair that I really liked, that cost an arm and a leg? Or do I get a comfortable, but ugly, looking pair? I asked the man in the back to see if they had any more, but that’s all they had. I could feel the urge to just buy a pair rising, then I remembered the next thing Dave talked about in his book…

What high-dollar salesmen know is that if you have buying fever, it’s much harder to say “no” and walk away. This is true even if you’re in a shoe store shopping for sandals. I thought about it long and hard. The logical thing was to just leave. I wouldn’t have my sandals for the trip, but I wouldn’t be disappointed with my purchase the next day. I went on the hope that the right thing to do was walk away. So, I left the store without any sandals.

Truth be told, I’m glad I didn’t get either pair. Come to think of it, both pairs were ugly, and if I’m going to be spending money on something, I may as well enjoy it.

Paying Off Debt

I wouldn’t say I have a lot of debt, but I don’t make a lot of money. So, in comparison to how much I make, it seems like a lot of debt. I recently got paid for a big job I did a few weeks ago. It was the most money I’ve ever earned in a given time! Ever since booking the job, I dreamed of spending the money. (Now do I buy those $70 slippers?) It took a lot of humility, but I dedicated what I didn’t need to pay off student loans.

Conclusion

The changes I’ve had to make in the past weeks were not easy! It’s taken a lot of time and self-control to implement. However, since implementing the changes, I feel a lot more in control of my life and of my future.

Do you have anything you want me to cover in a future blog post? Do you have any questions you want me to ask in my next interview? Email me directly at

elijahslens.blog@gmail.com

Originally published at https://elijahslens.wixsite.com on July 15, 2020.