You can make purchases like a professional; it’s a matter of organization and following some guidelines. The first thing you must do is to identify your monthly income and responsibilities. This way you will know how much money you will have available to spend in items, trips or in whatever you consider may be an important purchase.
Below we offer five tips that you can follow to make purchase decisions of products or services:
1. Ask Questions: You have the option of coming up with a series of questions to make the provider of a product or service. Find out the cost, if there are payment methods, if you can ask for the reimbursement of your money in case of not wanting to keep your purchase, if you have any type of tax or monthly charge, which additional benefits are offered and if they make part of a written document.
You can also find out what guarantees are available and if they offer you a written version of them. It is possible to get an extended guarantee, remember there are many places that offer this service, but you must analyze if the cost is high and if it is worth it to make a payment of extended guarantee for a product that does not have too much of a damage risk.
Another question you may have is about insurance, since there are many credit cards that automatically offer to insure the product that you acquired and thus, it is not necessary to take the insurance offered by the store.
Ask all the questions you consider necessary to solve your doubts and make the best decisions.
2. Do not let yourself be pressured: When you are going to take a financial decision it is important that let you do not let yourself be pressured. It is possible that if you are going to buy an item, a trip, a property or even a credit card, the salesman pressures you to take an immediate decision. Remember that the sales teams are trained to persuade their clients and achieve that they buy in the same moment that they perceive your interest.
However, once you have solved all your doubts, take the time to analyze if it’s really convenient to make that decision. Examine the benefits that it will bring to your and if you are in the economic conditions to accept.
Remember that you have the right to different quotes and to buy. You can study different alternatives, receive assessment from experts in the field and make the decision that fits your life style.
There is a good advice that we can offer you: If you feel that you need to buy something right away, why no wait a couple of days? That way you find out if it was just an impulse buying or something that you really need. If you make a purchase online, leave it on the shopping cart and wait until you make a decision.
We also have a tip for you: If you are at a store and find something you like, look it up online and see if it’s cheaper. Many stores will even honor the cheaper online price, so ask a manager very politely and show them them the offer, and see if they will accept it.
Remember that you have the right to different quotes and to buy. You can study different alternatives, receive assessment from experts in the field and make the decision that fits your life style.
3. Analyze your economic capacity: Once your doubts are resolved and you have chosen a provider that you consider to be most convenient, analyze if you are in the economic capacity to get what you want. Avoid being led by impulse and the desire to buy, first be conscientious of how much it will affect you economically in the short and long term.
Review your home Budget and assure yourself that you have the required resources to assume this new responsibility.
Read Also: 4 Ways A Budget Can Help You Manage Your Money Better.
4. Have an extra income of money: If you are aware that this new purchase will significantly affect your financial life prepare yourself and seek a way to have an extra income of money. This can be of great help in case that the decision that you make does not have the results you expect. Find out between your known ones if they have knowledge of making extra money by you can take advantage of your free time and increase your income. This support will allow you to bear moments of crisis if they should present themselves resulting of bad decision making.
5. Make the Decision: Once you are sure, make the decision, read the contracts or documents where your name is present carefully. Verify that all the answers give to your questions are written, assure yourself that the companies which whom you are doing business with are registered in your country and with the legal documentation that allows them to offer that product or service.
These five steps will help you make a much more solid decision about the acquisition of products and services that may affect your financial life.