Lack of impulse control can get you a house full of stuff you don’t need. Pair that lack of impulse control with a credit card and you’re just asking to end up neck deep in debt. Add to the mix the ease of online shopping and the road to debt ends up a slippery slope that’s easy to slide down. For those of us with weak impulse control, we have to understand that we can and will live without the things we want so desperately in the heat of the moment. Let me show you what I mean.
All of these things have either recently been in my cart on Amazon, or I’ve filled out the online form far enough to almost type in my credit card number:
- Dexter Russel Slicing Knife : I’ve been reading a book by renowned BBQ restaurant owner Aaron Franklin, and in that book he lists the exact knife he uses to slice brisket. I want to be like Aaron, so I should have the same knife at a cost of $34.21.
- Butcher Paper : When I smoke meat, I typically wrap the meat in tin foil at some point to help the cooking process. Again, from the book I was reading, Aaron wraps his brisket with butcher paper. How will I ever make brisket as well as he does if I don’t spend $14.97 on butcher paper?
- Tel-Tru Smoker Thermometer : The thermometers on my smoker are not accurate. I’ve read on BBQ forums I visit that the Tel-Tru thermometer is the best in the industry. I obviously need 2 of them for my smoker at a cost of $90.40.
- Lang 36” Patio Offset Smoker : I bought my smoker from a big box hardware store for cheap. It works OK, but it’s hard to hold temps in the middle of a Minnesota winter. A serious bbq guy would have a competition grade smoker. The cost of the smoker is $1295, plus $500 to have it shipped to me from Georgia (it weighs 665 pounds).
All of these things I was just a few mouse clicks away from having delivered to my house and charged to a credit card. It would be easy to complete because of the simple fact that there’s no immediate consequence to doing so. I can click buttons and the items are on their way. No money had to be removed from my wallet, no numbers had to change in the available cash in my checking account. All I would notice is next month there would be a small minimum payment on that credit card.
Of course we all know what eventually happens. That small minimum payment sticks with you for years. Long after the knife is worn out and the butcher paper is used up. By the time it’s paid for that expensive smoker has doubled or tripled in cost due to interest payments.
In the end, I remembered I already have a very nice slicing knife, and I can buy butcher paper with cash from a nearby restaurant supply store. I know how much my thermometers are off, so I really do know exactly what the temperature in my smoker is. Oh, and the smoker price is just crazy. Not that I don’t still want it, but this is something I should save up for and savor the purchase of as the product of months or years of sacrifice to save up the cash to buy it. The smoker I have still works just fine.
I didn’t order any of this stuff, and you’ll all be happy to know that I didn’t die. In fact, a few days removed from the ordeal, I can’t even believe I was that close to actually ordering these things. They seem so unimportant and unnecessary now. My life is still wonderful without them. Remember that the next time your heart is racing as you click the online checkout button.
It’s so easy to do these days, Travis. I run into the same thing all the time. Putting things in my Amazon cart. Then, of course, ads pop up on my computer for the items as well! If it’s something I want badly, I will move it over to my Amazon Wish list, and hope for the best when the next b’day or gift giving holiday comes around!
I’ve heard Dave Ramsey say, “Children do what feels good. Adults devise a plan and follow it.” Congratulations on controlling that inner child!