Impulse buys

I have an impressive track record of impulsively buying things that are fun to have, but I really don’t need. For some reason a little shopper in me gets obsessed with a particular thing and refuses to give up. Over the years I’ve collected a veritable hall of fame of impulse buys.

The first was a six-disc, Sanyo surround sound stereo boombox my freshman year in college. Jennifer had just dumped me and I was feeling a little blue, and nothing lifts the spirits like 500 watts of glorious surround sound! It was great for a while — but then I felt guilty, so I returned the thing back to Best Buy on Day 29 of their 30-day return policy. (Might as well enjoy it while I could.)

Fast forward to our junior year and Sega had just come out with their marvel of video game systems, the Sega Dreamcast. I spent many a night after being stressed out about stupid student government stuff playing NFL 2K or NBA 2K. Wouldn’t you know, the Dreamcast was discontinued the next year. I think I sold it to Dan for $20 when I graduated.

Three years later, Chel was SGA president and she had a big trustee meeting coming up, so I wasn’t going to see her for a few days. Since I had some extra time on my hands, I ventured over to a Honda dealership one evening to look at their SUVs. I drove a Honda Element around the block and really liked it. My lease on my VW bug was ending in a few months. The sales guy offered me a free hot dog. So why the heck not! A few minutes later I was the proud leaser of a Honda Element. Chelsea was sorry to have left me alone that night.

Once marriage came along I thought I had grown beyond the age of impulse buys, and in the past couple of years I’ve done pretty well. The fact that we don’t put stuff on credit cards anymore helps keep things under control. But yesterday my little impulse shopper came back.

It started on Wednesday when we saw Dan’s beautiful new home and beautiful new flat screen TV with Dish Network and surround sound. I was convinced that Dish Network was better than our digital cable, so I did my research when we got home and found out that we, too, could have Dish Network with an HD DVR for the low, low upgrade fee of $199.

Yesterday morning I tried to persuade Chel about the glories of Dish Network. She didn’t really see how it was any different than what we have now, but she agreed that I could have the $200 to either get Dish Network or something else that I wanted. So where else could I go but the headquarters for all impulse purchases — Best Buy.

I found a little stereo system for $99 that was perfect, and Chel wisely called to check on me. I told her about our stereo options and then threw another possibility out there. “If I put all my spending money for this month in, I could get an Xbox 360.”

The Xbox 360 has been on my wish list for a year and a half now. In fact, two birthdays ago many family and friends put some money toward an Xbox 360 fund. Unfortunately, I spent that money on a new Treo cell phone. So when the impulse buyer came out yesterday, the Xbox 360 started calling my name again.

Long story short, Chel graciously agreed that I could get the Xbox, and added in an extra controller and a game. The impulse buy added up to a little more than that $200 we had planned on spending.

I’m going to love playing this thing. I promise. But in an effort to prevent future impulse buys, I have developed the following Commandments to prevent such purchases.

The Six Commandments to Prevent Impulse Buys

• I shalt not spend too much vacation time goofing off.
• I shalt not compare my A/V setup to other friends’ flat screen TVs and surround sound.
• I shalt not let Chel think that just because she gets furniture and jewelry, I should get an equal or greater amount of gadgetry.
• I shalt not forget that I’m almost 30 freaking years old, and 30 year-olds shouldn’t play video games. Right?
• I shalt not look at extra money we could put in savings and imagine what electronics it could purchase.
• I shalt not go to Best Buy. Ever. Or even bestbuy.com.

Ok, I’m off to play Xbox.