Here at GreatDeals Singapore, we are all about saving you money on your purchases. We scour our sunny island that is Singapore to find you deals that are worth looking at, and merchants that work hard to give you, the consumer, not just a fair deal, but a great deal. So, after you have saved all that money, then what? Or lets take it one step back and ask; ‘which great deal should I take?’ Where should I spend my money? With the GSS(Great Singapore Sale) coming up at the end of the month, this question begs importance.
Bills and basic necessities aside, we buy stuff and spend money to feel happy. But do we ask ourselves ‘will this make me happy?’ every time we pick something up? Or are we simply being pulled by the glitter of glamorous packaging and advertising undertones? Here, I want to present a simple formula that might help us with this issue and hopefully buy us some happiness.
I call it the ‘how much time?’ principle. How much time will you spend on your purchase? It’s easy, the more time you spend on the purchase the more happiness it will bring you. This principle is not going to tell you in numbers how much you should spend on which item, but it will give you a good basis to answer two questions. First, if you should buy the item, then if you should spend the minimum amount, spend the average amount or go for an all out spending.
I will now attempt a simple example. Mattresses. So, lets apply the principle to the the two questions of ’should I buy it?, and should I spend the minimum amount, the average amount, or the all out amount?’ How much time will I spend on a mattress? Personally, I will spend more than 8 hours a day on a mattress if I count reading and tv time. So that is 33% of my time. Should I purchase a mattress? Duh! yes! How much should I spend on it? For me the answer would be an all out spending. Simple right?!
I have chosen a rather straight forward example so that we can have a benchmark. And once you start applying the principle whenever you shop, you will start to catch the percentages quickly to know if you should make the purchase and if you do, how much to spend. A example on the other spectrum would be a winter jacket. Should I get one? Not if I’m spending all my time in sunny Singapore! And if I’m taking a trip to icy cold Canada? Well yeah, and I would spend either the minimum or the average amount, depending on the length of my trip.
I have just one more point to add. The definition of ‘all out spending’. When I say ‘all out’ I mean relative to your means. That is an important thing to note, because in our consumer age, the price range caters for the entire spectrum and especially for the super rich. So spending within means comes first. Also, when I mention ‘all out spending’, even if you can, you might not want to go for the top end. Reason is this; there always is a diminishing return. The difference between a $10 chair and $100 chair might be big(in terms of quality etc.), but the the difference between a $100 chair and a $1000 chair might not be as large. So even if you can afford a $1000 chair and you have applied the ‘how much time? principle’ You might want to keep save it for something else.
So, the next time you shop, think about the one thing that we all have in equal measure; time. You’d be happier for it.
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