I remember my first big purchase like it was yesterday. I wanted to buy a Nintendo 64 that came with a purple remote AND a gray remote. If I recall, it also came with a game, maybe Diddy Kong Racing? It was $130, which was a lot of money (and still is!). I worked hard for that money. I delivered newspapers to about 80 subscribers 6 days a week for 6.5 cents per paper per day. In other words, for every paper I chucked into the bottom of a storm door, pumping up every dog in the neighborhood (not kidding), I was paid a nickel and a penny and another half of a penny. (If my math is correct, I had to deliver 2000 newspapers before I could buy it!) After 4 houses I already had more than a quarter!
I digress. Back to the task. When I went to buy that system, I remember my dad telling me, "make sure you shop around and look for the best deal, David." As the years passed and I wanted a bass guitar... and then a PA system, and then an acoustic guitar and then a half stack... my dad always said the same thing... "make sure you shop around to find the best deal." This is a lesson I have continued to abide by through all of my adult life. I always look around at a few places before I buy anything. Although it adds hours onto buying something it takes the pressure off of some purchases. When I bought my first car a few months ago, I remember putting an offer on a vehicle knowing that if they didn't give me what I wanted I had a number of other potential vehicles that were up in the rankings.
The basic premise of my dad's suggestion has proven to be helpful. When buying a new mattress and box spring last year, Bethany (my darling wife) and I went to a few places before we bought one. We found one that we thought we liked at Mattress Store #1 but after "shopping around" we found that there was a better one waiting for us at Mattress Store #2.
Shopping around also has other benefits. One thing I've learned about myself over the past several years is that I need to consider whether the item I'm thinking about buying is something I actually want. After spending hours comparing prices and looking up reviews online, I might realize that the digital video camera that comes with a green screen (sophomore year of college) isn't something that I want to spend money on. After borrowing one from a friend, an iPad (Fall 2010) might not be the best fit for what I'm looking for. In one day, I am able to realize that I just want a gadget, but a DroidX (3 weeks ago) probably isn't going to end up being that useful of a tool to me (no matter how cool I'll look at Starbucks checking out apps in the Android Marketplace).
I am an immediate gratification kind of guy. My instinct is to buy an item as soon as I have an interest, not a few days later. I realize that my response is similar to that of Michael Scott from the office (Season 3 - Episode 2) when Pam tells Michael it might take 8 months to adopt a baby from Asia and Michael says, "I don't even know if I'll want a baby in eight months." (I think I have literally said that to Bethany once... but not about a baby)
By heeding the advice of my dad I have avoided many regrettable purchases. I know I said I would probably end all of these with an apology of sorts to my parents, but for this one I want to say, "Thanks, dad."
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