Buyer's Remorse

There are probably a large number of stores that hate me. Reason #1 - We leave trails of raisins everywhere we go - Jed wants to make sure we are able to find our way back home. Reason #2 - 2 screaming kids. Need I say more? Reason #3 - I always walk right to the back of the store, past the regular and 'sale' priced items - to the clearance racks. Reason #4 (and what this post is about) - I return stuff...and not just ocassionally...a lot. I will not remove tags from clothes until after I have put it on and intend to wear it that day. If, after a couple of weeks, I cannot bring myself to wear it, I will return it. Sometimes, I just make decisions too hastily because I don't have time to really think it thru - so when I get home I decide that I don't really like/want/need it. Or, if I find something I'd rather have for the same $15, I will return it. Living on such a tight budget forces me to really count the cost of the things that I buy - things don't just cost me money, they cost me what I cannot get with the same amount of money. This is actually just a basic rule of economics...not all that monumental. But definately a rule that I live very aware of.

One of my problems is that even after I have made my purchase, I continue to shop. I just can't help it. Either, I think I might find a better deal or product and I can return my original purchase, or I just want to make sure that I did good - validation of my purchase. Most of my purchases reflect the first. However, big, non-returnable purchases reflect the second - the problem is that this can cause 'buyer's remorse'. This happened with our car. I thought I wanted it, that it was a good deal, but after making the purchase, I realized that we probably could have done better.

So, knowing my tendency on this, I was quite afraid of buying a house. Big, BIG, non-returnable purchase...see where I'm going with this? New houses come on the market every day. To make matters worse, we had to jump on this house so quickly that we didn't have a lot of time to think it thru. Sounds like guaranteed recipe for buyer's remorse. And of course, even months after moving into our house, I still look thru the real estate ads in the paper. And you know what I've found? Not an ounce of buyer's remorse! Everything I see only confirms that God gave us an incredible house at an incredible deal...

I can only think of two other 'purchases' that I've been as pleased with - my new Gap Long & Lean jeans and my incredible husband. (Don't worry Drew, I haven't had to look outside our home to know what a great catch you are!)