Daily Prompt; Decisions, Decisions

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How are you more likely to make an important decision — by reasoning through it, or by going with your gut?

One thing that is usually guaranteed in  life is maturity. Learning from our past mistakes helps us make better decisions later in life.

I started out free and happy. Newly married and no worries. Love blinded to anything in front of my eyes. Every credit card I received in the mail made me feel more and more important.

How easy it was to go to the department stores and whip out my card. Signing my name on the dotted line brought with it more than a heap of pride. The bills did come in at the end of the month.

Now what do I do? I don’t want to have to pay this. I want to go shopping this weekend. I will just pay the minimum due. This way I can still do what I want.

Wow did I learn my lesson quickly. After a few months of my routine my bubble was busted when I maxed out my two cards. I had wept into my own hands for being so stupid. I was going to  have to pay and remember this mistake for years to come.

Now many years later and the cards paid off I have learned a different way to make decisions. I ask myself, do I need this? Can I live without it? Can I wait until it goes on sale or on the clearance rack?

When I enter a store now I don’t stop and gawk at the front row of goodies. I actually head for the back where the clearance racks sit. Even in grocery stores there are sales constantly, but we have to look for them.

The eyes behind the scenery are much smarter than we give them credit for. It is intentionally planned that the highest priced and the newest products are placed at eye level. We see this first and we dive in for it.

What we don’t see is that two shelves down is the same product in a store brand label for a much lower price. I find this to work in almost any type of store that you can use cash or credit.

With caring for my brother I have not worked for some time. Money is a valuable element in my life but I have to make excellent decisions so I don’t end up being number one on the redial of a collection agency.

If it is a high-priced item I know I need I sleep on it for maybe a few days. I scan the internet and the paper ads for the best bargains. I talk to people and get their thoughts on professionals that won’t try to take advantage of a single person on a limited income.

Eventually I do come to the decision. If I don’t know the answer I still wait. I learned this from my Mom. She always said, if you can’t figure out the right move, wait, because you could be digging yourself in a big hole.

My mom was a wise woman. If I would have thought of this when I was in my twenties I wouldn’t have spent years paying off high interest credit cards. Thanks Mom, it finally kicked in.

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