Episode four thirty four Ways online stores get you to impulse by.
Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity, and liver a your life. Here your hosts Jen and Jill.
Welcome to Frugal Friends podcast. My name is Jen, my name is Jill, and today we are talking about four specific ways online stores get you to impulse by.
Just like I just said, there's no mystery in the title of this podcast episode, you know what you're gonna get. And we've been really loving these types of conversations where we kind of give a sneak peek behind the scenes how companies get you to spend more money so that you can be more prepared and intentional with the way that you spend money. Because we are are gonna spend money. We just want to make sure that it's our decision
and not somebody else's manipulative actions influencing us. Yes, absolutely, But first, this episode is brought to you by by.
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you are really struggling with. First, we want to say impulse purchases are not the enemy, because an impulse purchase is really just any unplanned purchase. Sometimes you have to, sometimes you want to. It's it's your prerogative. But I think what we want to advocate for is not letting manipulation influence our impulse purchases. So that's kind of how we look at it on this show. So we have a lot of episodes on impulse buying and how to
overcome it. So we have episode three fifty one Impulse Buying, What it is and how to stop, and then episode
three seventy eight psychological Reasons why we impulse buy. On this one, we're going to talk specifically about the marketing in that's behind online retailers, and I think a lot of I mean, we're mostly shopping online nowadays, so we're not going to cover the in store stuff because that's a whole different you'll find these things in in store as well, but we could do a whole separate episode on like in store marketing and how that triggers you
to make impulse purchases. Today we're just looking at online retailers. So our headline for today is four sneaky ways online retailers trigger you to make impulsive purchase or impulse purchases. And this is from huff Post.
And we're just going to go through all four. But it is based off of an analysis of two hundred online retailers that it's a research project that was done by University of Michigan School of Information and they found that on average, companies use nineteen different feature to encourage impulse buying. And they were surveying large retailers like Target dot com, Amazon dot com, at plus thirty others and they found that some of these features included things like discount,
low stock messages, count down clocks, and more. But we're going to go through the top four tactics that they found, and the first one is using sales and discounts. We kind of know this we see them in person, but we can be especially susceptible to sales and discounts online. They say that more than eighty percent of consumers say, they're more likely to purchase something when they have a coupon or there's a discount, according to a twenty twenty
two survey by Wildfire Systems. So offering a percentage off of a purchase, or sometimes they'll even use things like free shipping for spending over a certain amount, can help
retailers sell items more quickly. So if you see a sale or a discount popping up on the item that you are looking at, it is very possible that even subconsciously, you might be more app to purchase that thing because you see the original price crossed out and then the lower price beneath it, and that feeling of I'm going to get a deal, I'm going to be smart here, I'm getting something that usually isn't available to other people.
There are definitely a lot of psychological pieces at play here, and just wanting to get something less expensive than it normally is can be a reason for us to impulsively buy something that we might not otherwise have bought.
Yeah, I think it's hilarious because as so, while we're scrolling this article on our laptops, literally right next to it is huff Post Shopping Best Fines and their articles like Brooks best selling sneaker and more up to fifty percent off. This Apple watch is one hundred dollars off on Amazon right now, and time is ticking like it's not just the retailers that do it, but it's all of these. Essentially every website on the Internet is run
by either advertising dollars. It's a combination of advertising and affiliate. So they're so huff Post is publishing articles, yes, very helpful articles like the one we're going through, but also articles like this apple watch is one hundred dollars off because if you click their link and buy an Apple Watch through their article, they get a kickback. And so when we're looking at these sales and discounts and something that, it's great websites. So I don't fault the websites because
you have to make money. If you're a creator, you have to pay the bills, right Like, it's why we thank you for listening to our show and listening to the advertisements on our show because or even skipping through them, because that allows us to get paid without asking money from you, you know, except to buy our book, which
is less than thirty dollars. And that's all that is all we're asking of you, so like it allows us to bring this to you for free because we take money from the corporations, but like, creators deserve to be paid, and so unfortunately just a lot of them. You know, they'll do half really good content and then half you know this no frills. Amazon Underwear has an astonishing number of reviews affiliate content like that. So I don't fault
the website. I don't think less of the website because of it, but I do think twice about the product, uh, because that is a way for them to make money. So the next one on the list is last one in stock messages and this is more of a s retailer thing. I know larger retailers will do this is they looked at two hundred retailers in this study, only thirty of them were large, So a lot of smaller shops will when they get to their like you know, last one in stock the message sending you an email
about it creates a sense of urgency. Retailers are trying to make you make a quick decision by not comparison shopping. It's also kind of a bandwagon tactic because if there's only one left in stock, that means everybody else has bought it, and without knowing these people or their experiences, I inherently trust the group or the majority. So that's something that the last one in stock message can do.
It.
It works very well for airlines and hotels. If you're wondering should I take the trip, should I take the staycation, and there's only one left, then you kind of have Then you can't wait anymore to make the decision. So it behooves you to make these decisions kind of before you have to make them, right. So that's why we save for vacations in a sinking fund. We plan for them in advance. That way we don't have to question.
I know I'm taking this trip, so when I see the sale coming up, I already know this is something I'm gonna do. Then I can book the hotel and the airline. I can wait for the sale, but I don't have to be influenced by the sale.
Yeah, it's such a sense of urgency. And I think it is true that we might buy quicker with travel, but usually you're not impulse buying travel. But I do think that this is a message that can pop up with anything that oh I just saw this ad on Instagram and I'm clicking on it, and now it's if I don't get it now, I'll never get it. Like these are the things that can push us towards that that earthency. I'm going to buy it now because what if I'll never have the opportunity to try this new
thing that I just learned about. So just something to be aware of. Usually it's not true. Usually it's not actually the last one in stock and.
I think this is this message is the last message in stock too, because it comes after you've seen the advertsary you think, hey, I think I might want to take a trip to Miami, and so you start looking at things and then you start getting served the ads for it, and then maybe you will look at the you know you're already on Southwest, like you know their emails, so you just search Southwest for a flight, and then
you know you don't think anything of it. And that's like that, after you've had enough time to stop thinking about it, is when you will get the email from Southwest one seat left, still thinking about this trip, about it, but you haven't been saving for it. If you really wanted to take the trip, you should start saving for it right, So that's the difference. This is kind of This will be the last of many attempts from the online retailer.
The next tactic is bundling, up selling, and cross selling. So this is also a huge one within the travel industry, like upgrading a seat or buying a premium product for a small percentage, So up selling is another way that people retailers will drive impulse spending. So also includes things like cross selling where they might offer a related product at a discounted rate, such as a camera bag if you just bought a camera, bundling where a discount is
offered if you buy multiple related offers. I see this all the time. A lot of especially the budget airlines, are doing this. As you're going through even the ticket purchasing process, before you actually have a finalized sale, many of them will try and get you to book a hotel, book a car rental in the process of getting your ticket. It's wild to me. I am very adept at just like clicking through all of those pages. But if you're not.
If you're not, if you don't travel a lot, or you're not certain about what your travel arrangements are going to be, this could be a real big trap for purchasing items that you don't actually need. They'll do this with bags, seat assignments, they'll try and sell you getting through the airport super quickly, but also with any other online retailer. This happens all the time. On Amazon, customers who bought this also bought these items, And sometimes you
can think, Oh, yeah, I didn't think about that. I'm about to go on this camping trip. And okay, so I bought my little pans and dishes, But am I going to need a Bunsen burner? Like? What else? Am I going to need? Some fire starters? What else am I going to need? Like it feels as though, oh, the packing list is almost for me, I better just buy this. I feel like if there's any tactic that
does work on me, it is this one. Like you're saying, if I just add this in, I could get like two for the price of one, or that other example of I didn't even think about that item. I might need that too, throw it in the cart because of the discount that I could get. Oh, it's like a two for one because then I don't have to pay for shipping because now I've reached that thirty five dollars minimum spend. And now I've bought things that I did not intend to buy.
And I just learned that they do make buns and burners for camping. Because as a science nerd, I said, why would you take that? Why would you take lab equipment?
But they just don't know. See, you don't have to make a carry around matches. Yeah, it's so true. So for any science nerds that don't camp, there you go. I don't camp either. I don't know. It's just the first thing that came to my mind.
Yeah, I will say. Also, I see this in the online marketing space. So I have friends who are If you're in the online marketing space, you will know this. They are click funnels people. Jill, have you ever.
Liken these people?
Okay, well then that's.
Because I've been around you, okay and heard about it.
Okay, these are they And you may not know the term off off the top of your head, but when I tell you what they do, their their model, you'll be like, oh gosh, yes, So like I, this is specific. So it started with like free book, just pay shipping and handling, right, so you'll you would see ads that was original. That was the OG and then you would
buy the shipping and handling. They would upsell you to a digital product, and then you would get an email later putting you through a funnel to sell you on a higher price course, or they might just go at you immediately. I was buying a shirt the other day online and I had searched out this shirt. The shirt did not advertise to me. I sought out the shirt and it was from a small Florida company and it had I bought the I signed up for the emails.
They sent me a discount, and so I waited because I was like, they're gonna send me a discount, So I waited. I got my discount, and then I bought the shirt and a media. They were like, act now, and you will get ten percent off this shirt, this specific shirt, which is one of their best selling shirts. And you had there was a literal account downtimer and WHOA, yeah, that's uh, that's like bundling or cross selling. That's cross selling.
And then I said no, and then they were like, act now thirty percent off this shirt selling shirt.
You only have so much will power in you to just keep saying now.
So this is so these are like kind of up sells and cross.
Sells Tory hearing you describe it.
Yeah, so it's not I wouldn't say it's predatory if you know aggressive, Yeah, I went in there. It is aggressive. You're right, so it is aggressive. But a lot of these funnels will upsell you and we so we do it ourselves, Jill.
I know, and I don't like it. I'm not gonna lie. I hate marketing so much.
You don't hate marketing.
You're marketing a book, you know, I'm having a party.
When you sign up for our for the friend letter, then you get to purchase the values based values based budget binder like and that's the only place we sell it is and that truly is the only time you can get there's a countdown and when you leave, you really you truly cannot get it any other time. You don't advertise it anywhere else. So there's sometimes that's not always true, so there can be authenticity in this. But yeah, so we we offered that that's something you know, again,
it's just I think not even fifteen dollars. So it's something that allows us to eat dinner out.
Sometimes, that's like our have we moved from talking about the tactics retailers used currently using the tactics, right, I.
Don't What I'm trying to say is this stuff isn't bad. I don't think this stuff is necessarily like predatory. I think you just have to be aware of.
Oh well, it depends on how it's used. The rample you used of Okay, you said no to this? What about this? You said no to that? What about that? Right? Like that's aggressive like.
Space budget binder.
That's it.
Then you're done that. We've were not coming at you with anything else. So yeah, it's it's small. It's a lot of small businesses do it. I I don't feel as bad. Like with this very small T shirt company, Like I didn't feel bad about it. It's I think it's just like a mom and a daughter. I think that's their their T shirt, right, So I didn't feel bad about it. I didn't buy the extra T shirts because I didn't want them, but I didn't feel bad
about it. But like with these click funnels, people that are, you know, making the true Comma Club, and I'll make a million of dollars buy more stuff and buy some more stuff, I don't know, more stuff. Then I really don't feel bad saying no, actually, don't sign up for those things anymore because it's like so stinky, just virtually smell stinky. All right. So the last one on here is something I've talked about quite a bit. Cart reminder messages.
So when you put something in your cart and you have an account there, they're going to email you and remind you there's something in your cart. I got that email yesterday, like we have to buy some finishings for our cabinets. I put the thing in my cart and I'm waiting for like some points to go through so that I can get fifty dollars off, and I got an email this morning. Your cart misses you. That's literally
what it said, your cart misses you. So when we're doing the like wait thirty days type like typically people say, put it in your cart and wait thirty days. I don't like that, because you get these cart reminder messages. Make a wish list, put it in a note, like a digital note. I know a lot of people love notion for making like picture notes. Just do something like that and you can make a new one every month
or every thirty days or what have you. I would rather you do that because Amazon doesn't necessarily send you like list reminder at least I haven't gotten them. Maybe they've just hidden them from me. But your wishless they don't typically send you reminders on for some reason, Honey.
If you're on joint Honey, they will send you reminders like, hey, something on your list just dropped in price, which I don't hate as much, but honestly, I'm getting kind of tired of it because of all of the predatory sales stuff that is going on, like just retailers lowering prices by a penny and then raising it by two and lowering it by a penny, and just this is the real stuff that is happening on Amazon, so they know you'll get these reminders that the price was lowered but
really was increased, like it increased. So yeah, I would I would say, Honey is kind of dead to me, Like I don't find that there. It helps ever in getting cute pun codes anymore. And it just sends those drop lists, Like even if you didn't drop list it, if you just save something, it's gonna send you email reminders on it because they get an affiliate commission if you buy through that email. So I would say wish
list best case scenarios. You're doing something like notion, which is free, you're putting it in there like August wish list, wait until September and whatever you want then you can still get. And then whatever you didn't get, tally that up and like put that towards a vacation fund or something that'd be fun.
There you go, yeah, or any other financial goal that you have. For sure, I would say that this is a reason to not sign up for text message reminders. All these sites really do try and push that. But if it's just reminders even that have into your email, and you've got something like unroll me, then that's helpful too. Just like kind of ways to put barriers in between.
And we'll get there on talking about more strategies, but again, it's helpful to know these top four tactics so that when you see it happening, you can be more aware and vigilant and guarded where you need to be still spend. We absolutely are all going to spend our money on things that we need and we want, but we can be a little bit more equipped to know, Ah, they're trying to get me to spend do I really want
to do this? But I think it's worth having this conversation that they also have in this article of why the strategies work. And I love this quote here from one of the people that they interviewed for this article where they describe shopping is a complex activity and the decision making process by consumers is not straightforward and linear. Many factors play into a decision to purchase or not. And I so appreciate this take and perspective because I
think it helps normalize the spending process for us. We can feel very down on ourselves, disappointed, frustrated, guilty, shameful about the way that we spend money and our shopping habits and behaviors. But I think this quote really helps to put it into perspective that this isn't just a I need this, get that, get the best possible price
on it at the best possible time. Like we are emotional creatures and there's a lot of factors at play in our lives and a lot happens in the timeline before, during, and after spending, and so emotions do drive shopping decisions.
That's not necessarily bad or good. It is I think that we can equip ourselves as a result of that, and so being able to understand that my emotions played into this decision can help us know how do we want to prepare ourselves when we're going into these shopping decisions.
Yeah. I think if it was as simple as stop spending money on stuff you don't need, or stop spending money outside of what you've planned for, I don't think anybody would be listening to this episode. But anytime we put impulse buying, impulse purchase, impulse spending in the title of a podcast episode, it instantly becomes the top downloaded episode of the month, like a kid. You not just having the word impulse in the title will make this like a top download And so obviously saying don't do
it isn't enough. Spending is such a complex subject. Spending decisions are nuanced, so it's why we were able to write an entire book on it. So it's not just a chapter in a personal finance book that is overshadowed by it's flashier cousins earning and invest staying right. These are nuanced decisions that deserve real, like introspective work on our emotions, on our time, on all of our spending triggers. Yeah, and so impulse purchases or the tactics that companies use
to drive impulse purchases. They thrive because they are using that sense of urgency. They don't want you to take those steps to learn the nuances about what's going on, what's going on right now, what's the time, what are my feelings? You know, what just happened to me. They don't want you to take the time to think about all of those things. They just want you to act quickly, and that drives such a significant percentage of their profits. But that's why they do it.
Yeah, the discounts, the cart reminders, they all tap into the fear of missing out, or scarcity mindset, or even these feelings of accessing something exclusive. They also talk about this concept of social proof, that's the idea of wanting something because others have it. So all of these things are going to play into why we even want something to begin with, Like our desire will fuel our spending and purchasing decisions. So a lot of it kind of
happens before we've actually bought. But these things especially play into why we might impulsively make that decision. We've not really thought about it before, we're just in the moment, and we do it because of the discounts, the cart reminders, the countdowns, the you're going to be special and part of this cool club because you have this thing, or because you've got the deal. And again, this isn't going
to solve for all of our potential impulse buying. But one of the things that we believe is really helpful is knowing what are these tactics, Having these constantly in the back of our heads to help inform our spending decisions wherever we can help create that pause, that awareness of self, what we are doing, how we're making decisions, can give us that little bit of extra edge that we need to make decisions that are in our best interest and our values aligned to spending decisions.
So let's wrap this conversation up with how to avoid falling into these pitfalls. And so these are just some encouraging things. Even the article says they're not trying. Retailers are not trying to rip us off necessarily. They're just trying to get us to buy more so they make more money. You know who's gonna fault Who's gonna fault somebody for wanting more money? Right, I want more money, so let me take care of me in that in
that instance and not take care of somebody else. So the experts and we're gonna I'm gonna push back on some of these. I'm gonna push back on the first one. Unsubscribe from emails or texts from brands and retailers. So I definitely say you don't need to be getting texts from brands and retailers. I would say the only text that I need are from the Mouse Dining Plan saying that there is a there's a character dining spot opened up for the day and time I want it.
She's talking about Disney for all you non Disney people.
So which I can't which I need a text reminder because I'm only getting email reminders and I miss it every time. But I don't need text reminders on sales for things. Yeah, what I do need emails on are are like retailers. So specifically, I was thinking, what was it? Okay? Okay? So I was looking to get a hotel and I ended up going with points on for Hyatt because that's where I always stay. But IHG was having an eighty percent Like you could move your chase points over to
IHG with an eighty percent bonus. Ooh nice, which looks good on the surface, but it's actually not.
The point conversion isn't great. I got trapped with that before.
So there was a sale going on though, where you could buy IHG points for like five cents a point or something, but you had to be it was a customized offer and you had to be on their mailing list or you wouldn't see it. So I don't want to be getting IHG emails all the time. But and
I don't stay there. So I was not on their mailing list, but I was like, dang, I wish maybe if I'd been on their email list, then right now when I needed, I could go in there and see what my special offer wouldn't be and see if I could, you know, get a deal on the points and see if that would have been better than using points at Hyatt.
Yeah.
I did not end up doing that, but that was an instance where I was like, I there are some of these retailers. I do want to stay on their life just for something like this, but I don't want to see it every day. And that's why we use unroll me. Gosh, I wish we were stakeholders and not coming unroll dot me. And so that rolls up all of these subscription emails into one email that you can either choose, and they send it to you once a day. You can choose whether you want to get it morning, afternoon,
or evening. You check it once a day, or you don't check it. Like for me, if I had an IHG newsletter, it would have just gone into enroll me. I'd never see it. But then when I wanted it, I could have gone into my like my email and just searched it and it would have popped right up. I don't even have to go search unroll me to find it.
Hot take on this that is just coming to my mind at this very moment. You're all you're hearing it. Hearing it here. First, folks, if one of the ways that we want to be spending better is locally or small business, then that could be a reason to be signed up for some of these emails, so that then you are more likely to buy with the places who are saying here's the deal in discount that we're offering.
So almost using it in your favor as an encourager to be aware of what's going on in your community and locally. For instance, Eric and I, Eric is a part of a mailing list for a local comedy club. We love that. It's one of the things that we enjoy doing locally, and we have gotten so many amazing deals because he's on their mailing list. Like last Friday, we were out, we were having dinner, and he happened to see this email. I don't know. I don't know
how he lives his life. I guess he was checking his emails and they were somebody had purchased ten tickets to the comedy show, so it would be free for the first ten people who claim a ticket. So he happened to see it fast enough claim two tickets for both of us, and we were able to scooter downtown and go see a comedy show for free because we were part of a local entertainment group's email list.
Your life is fascinating, Your life is fascinating.
I don't know. It's mostly pretty boring, but it did make me realize I also would push back on these unsubscribed from emails. I mean, do if you're realizing I'm purchasing things that I definitely don't need. But we could also use it in our benefit to spend the way we want to be spending.
Yes, okay, so that's a lot on the first one. We want to go me death.
I don't even care for the rest of them. Honestly, here's one plan your shopping sessions to look for specific items. Only. If this were as easy as it sounds, then we wouldn't be having issues with impulse buying. However, I will say there's something here. I think part of this has to do with the way that we interrupt our or
patterns and behaviors. So if you're seeing we're talking specifically about online spending, right, So if you're seeing online spending is where I impulse shop spend the most, then it probably is worthwhile to consider what are some of the barriers I can set up for myself. So if you're already on your phone, let's say it happens on your phone, you're scrolling Instagram, you see an ad for something that
looks really great. One of the things that I might do is put that on my shopping list, Like I just keep a Google notes of the thing that I'm looking for or the thing that kind of stood out to me. And that for me, I'm not saying it's going to work for everybody. We try on things that kind of helps solve for I've seen it, I've acknowledged I want it, it is somewhere listed. Now now I can take my time in figuring out is this actually something I'm gonna want? Now that it's front of mind,
it allows me time to look at other options. Am I sure that if I want a new bathing suit that this is the one I actually want? Should I shop around? Am I sure that I actually need a new bathing suit? So for me, this and this isn't like, oh this happened overnight. For me, this is built over time, but it is something I've found works for me. I can still engage with the thing that sparked my interest that I want and I desire to spend money on. But it doesn't mean I have to jump to spending.
But I can still put action to that desire, like writing it down, like researching more, like giving it time and maybe doing something else with my energy.
Yeah, I agree. And set a well defined budget so you don't overstudy.
Yeah wow wow, Well I must.
Say well defined in what you value. So when you are doing your ninety day transaction inventory and you're doing your no spend challenge, and you know these are the things that I really value spending on. These are the
things I don't so much. Or maybe I do value this, but I've been spending on it a lot lately, and I would like to take pause from it for you know, a quarter or something that is that's well defined for me, not like I can only spend this much on coffee and I can only spend this much on eating out and YadA, YadA, YadA. That's restrictive, like giving myself a defined and what if I get like two dollars over what?
Then?
Like, those restrictions are bad there, they lead to unhealthy patterns with spending so well defined values, I would say, and then you're going to be more easily, you're not going to overspend as easily, and you're not going to feel as restrictive and need such a restrictive budget. And then the last two I actually do. I mean, yeah, those are just tried and.
True compare prices to make sure you're getting the best. Well, yeah, and that's one of those action pieces that you can put to creating more time and space before the impulse purchase. If you're spending time researching and comparing prices, then it's becoming less impulsive and more intentional and thought through, and then the last one wait twenty four hours before completing a purchase.
So that's a habit thing.
Yeah.
I always I'm just leaving things in a cart or a wish list, and then I never like instantly go kart to check out. It's always sitting there for at least a couple days.
Yeah, And I think if you need to do something with that energy, then figure out what works for you. Whether it's then you're just going to move to play a game on your phone, or you actually need to stand up and do some sort of activity. There is a real kind of need that's happening when we impulse spend. So I think identifying what that need is, what action you need to put to the need, can help it
not feel so deprivation. And you know what, lax restriction and deprivation just through and through.
It's a well defined value for me.
I think the bill of the week, that's right, it's time for the best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name is Williams. Maybe you paid off your mortgage, maybe your car died and you're happy to not have to pay that bill anymore. Dust bills, Buffalo Bills, Bill Clon, this is the bill of the week.
Hi ladies, congratulations on your six hundredth episode. It was a funny one with the guys. Anyhow, I wanted to share what my bill of the week was, and it is our outdoor patio. When we initially had spoken with the gentleman, he quoted us one figure, and after about a week or so of my husband and I'm mulling it over, we decided that that was the direction we wanted to go. So I called the guy back and when he came back with us to sign the contract
and everything, he had a totally different amount. I questioned it and he was a little bit flustered trying to figure out how he even came up with that number, but he honored it when although it was only a couple hundred dollars difference when you're spending several thousands and do you want to do it within a budget? You want to make sure everything is down to the tee.
So thank you for.
All that you guys.
Do you really have helped me a lot through my seasons in my financial journey.
Thank you. Wow, six hundred, I mean this was one to save for.
The six hundredth episode.
Yeah, she means the four hundredth episode that was all the way back in April.
That listen, I'll take it if you believe we've come to a point of six hundred episodes. I feel honored, but also thanks for sharing your bill about your outdoor patio and getting that done. I hope it looks beautiful and well done. Sticking to an agreed upon amount. I think so many times we can get kind of I don't want to use the word swindled, it's the only
word that's coming to mind. I don't know, just kind of pushed into a position where we have to pay a certain amount just because we're afraid of offending someone or hurting someone's feelings, when really we're just trying to come to clarity of this is what was said, Why is it different now? And if he had had some reason for why that was the case, you know, maybe there would have been another renegotiation and look at the price. But it sounds like he was willing to honor what
he originally said, which is fantastic. I'm so glad that you found a contractor who is reasonable like that. It can be hard to come by so stick with them if you find so. Thanks for sharing your bill. We appreciate that, and thanks for celebrating our four hundredth episode with us. We hope you're still here for the six
six hundred episode. If you all listening, have a bill that you want to submit, if it has to do with clarity on a bill, stick in to a bill, be in billfrugalfriendspodcast dot com, slash bill, leave us your bill, and now it's time for they round.
All right, So our question today, what's the last item you purchased online on impulse and do you regret it? So I had to go back into my Amazon orders. I don't do a lot of unplanned online shopping because like it's just become a habit. Like if I want some thing, I will put it on the list. If I really want it, I put it in the cart and I just like wait and I leave it there for a time. I also don't have Amazon Prime, so I don't like I have to wait if it's under
thirty five, you know, So that helps me. But I would say the it wasn't super impulsive, but I bought all the stuff for the Olympics party. Oh yeah, it hasn't happened yet as of this recording, so TBD if it was about it right now.
What's the most random thing in that order? For the Olympics party?
Twenty five bouncy balls for kids, extra large bouncy balls.
And remind all of our listeners why you're getting twenty five bouncy balls.
Because I have organized a child's modern pentathlon with five sports. One of those sports is shot put, and that's what the bouncy balls are for.
Uh.
And they the children will compete to become champion of the children, and we will see who the strongest child is.
I hope you have medals, right, medals are there.
Too, right there? They are right there.
Perfect. I'm gonna bring my sharpian rite Champion of the Children on all of them.
Deal. They are at my house now. They have already been covered.
Uh. That's so exciting. I can't wait. Will you post any pictures on Instagram? Probably love a party, Okay, there's a reason to follow frugal friends and modern forgure.
Probably not pictures of other people's children, but maybe the backs.
Of their heads. Okay, uh okay, So for me, I am not an online line shopper, and I hope that that doesn't make me unrelatable. Surely there's a listener here who also doesn't online shop. Uh so myam pulse decisions are much more likely to happen in person. But but here you go. I do have an example for you.
I did this week by floaties online. Pool floats. Now, I can't say not like not like for your arms, like a pool float, pool float the kind I think they call them pool hammocks, so you don't have to blow up a ton. We used to have circular floats, but we would never and we got them for free, and then they were starting to deteriorate and we never took them because we didn't have a pump, And so you're just sitting there on the beach about to pass out, trying to get this big old ring full of air.
But then they make these hams that you just have to blow up the top and bottom, super quick and easy and super packable. Because we fourth of July is coming up at the time that we record this episode, and you need pool floats for that. We've been going to the beach and hanging out at sandbars and we want pool floats for that too. And so this has been on my mind, and then we got a gift card recently, a twenty dollars Amazon gift card, so it covered it, so I can't say I regret it.
No, those are great. I actually have some of those and will be bringing them to the fourth of July.
Perfect. Yeah. Yeah, So I don't know, And maybe this is a thing where Jenna and I are both saying, like, yes, we have impulse bought in our lives. Sometimes it still happens, but I guess there's a message of hope here that, like, it's not a huge part of my spending behavior your at this point in life, Like some of the things that we have talked about can and do work. And I think a lot of it has to do with
identifying your impulse spending kryptonite. Like for me, it's not online, but I can understand what would lead to impulsive spending, so I can talk to that. But I think figuring out, yes, it's because of Instagram, it's because of Amazon, it's because of my email list, it's because of when I'm in person, it's because when I'm celebrating, Like we each have to identify when are we most susceptible to purchases that we didn't necessarily want to make, and then building out patterns
and habits and routines around that. And I think, at least for me, like I've come to a point where that is working. I'm not perfect, but I can make spending decisions that I feel good about, especially on gift cards, where it's really not even a spending decision. So true, so true.
Yeah, Oh well, we hope that this has helped you with some of your online impulse spending decisions. I mean, I'm an online shopper. I do most of my shopping online, so I know that it is something that I have to actively think about and get over these specific things. And so I hoped you it helped you in some way, and we would love if it did help you. If you could leave a review similar to this one. This Jammorama ding Dong understood the assignment, and I know you
will too. Jammorama says, this ridiculous, Just what I need. I've been diving into lots of personal finance podcasts past couple of years and have been on a journey. This show has become one of my favorite listens. Do they know what they're doing? No? But do any of us really are they unhinged, Yes, but aren't we? All the hosts inclusive perspectives make me feel less alone. I've gotten tons of practical ideas. The show is so much fun
and I look forward to listening every time. Thank you, Jamarama ding Dong.
That's amazing. Do we know what we're doing now? Are we un hinge? Yes? And you understood the assignment in giving the people a heads up on what to expect from this show. So if they're not into that, then they won't listen and they won't leave us a one star. But if they are into that, they're gonna listen and
they're gonna leave us five stars. Like all of you who made it this far in the episode, thank you for listening, and if you did enjoy the fact that we don't know what we're doing and we're slightly unhinged, please do take a minute to leave a rating and review it. Truly, it helps us, it helps us, help helps others. I can talk one day.
You are able to have one day?
Okay, bye?
Google Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni.
Okay Jen.
Yes.
When I was in high school, I worked at this water ice place. Do you know what water ice is?
I know what Rita's is. Okay, we have them here.
Yes, on the east coast. I don't think Rita's. So there's a water ice place called Rita's. I think originally they only were in the northeast. They've expanded since it's great.
There's also Jeremiah's, which is similar.
Okay, I've not heard of that one. Yeah, and my boss was I don't even know how to describe him. I'm not even gonna try, but he was the if you got time to lean, you got time to clean kind and you absolutely had to upsell every single thing. And I hated it. I don't want to force, coarse manipulate anybody into anything, but it was a requirement, and especially on the days that the boss was there standing behind your shoulders, you had to do the up cell. Oh.
It went against every fiber of my being. What's an up cell? Oh? I'll tell you. Oh, I'll tell you. Do you want a swirl of custard on top? Do you want to add a soft pretzel to that? That's about it? Oh? Do you want it? Do you want a fountain soda?
Why would you want a fountain soda with a water ice?
I don't even think we had fountain sodas. Never mind, if that was lemonade, there you go. I think lemonade, soft pretzel, extra thing, sprinkles, an extra little dollup of custard.
Did it already have custard in it?
It depends on what you want it. You could do a custard ice combo. You could just do ice. You could just do uh huh yeah, oh yeah, Oh I loved the water ice custard combo. Absolutely. Did anyone ever take me up on my upsell? Nope? But there was one time that someone that someone called it out that he was like, oh wow, very nice upsell. I don't know why it has turned into a core memory for me.
He didn't purchase the thing I was trying to get him to buy, but he did acknowledge it, and I felt, I think I felt a little bit like caught, like, oh, this is supposed to just be a natural question. And the fact that they knew what I was doing, that they called it an up cell, it felt very uncomfortable for me. Yeah, No, I did not like it.
Yeah, you felt like you were doing something in secret, but.
Really, yeah, like trying to manipulate them to do something without them really knowing it, but still giving me more of their money. I just I don't like it. I still don't like it. Like if you wanted a pretzel, you would have ordered a pretzel, and here I am trying to get you to do it.
Yeah. Well, I mean, thank god you worked at Rita's because I worked at the Gap and we were required to upsell everyone to.
Eat the credit card. I hate those questions.
Yeah, that was very rough, and your performance and your shifts were all based on how many credit cards you could sell. Nobody cared how much merchandise you sold or upsold, like, nobody cared about the merchandise. It was all about the credit cards.
And now there's even stores will there they will ding a bell when someone signs up for the credit card. I think like Marshalls or TJ Max has started to do that, and it's just like if you're shopping and all throughout the store, they're just like, somebody just signed up. Bark, don't dj BX rewards, don't just don't do not. Those are not the good kinds of credit cards.
Yet the cuss get the upsell at Rita's, do not of the upsell at GAFT and Marshals