We are in a golden age of technology, where technology is driven by innovations, and innovations are introduced to us nearly every day (it’s an over-exaggeration, but you get my point). More and more technologies are introduced to us faster than we can keep up.
Among all those new technologies being introduced are innovations that have revolutionized and influenced the way we spend. It has become very convenient to spend our money – too convenient, perhaps.
We’ve Become Too Impulsive
Imagine this scenario: you’re walking through the mall and you see a pair of your favorite shoes. What do you do? You might say you’ll simply walk away to avoid the temptation. Or conversely, you might go inside the store, see if it fits, check the price, and reach for your wallet to see if you can afford it. Have no cash with you? Luckily you have your trusty credit card with you.
The scenario above might seem to simple for you, but it is indeed what is happening. It’s happened to me once or twice. In this age where you are bombarded everyday with commercials, internet ads, and social media posts about consumer products, it’s easy to get enticed, or even feel the need, to obtain a specific product. And once we get the opportunity to buy that product, we hop on the opportunity and grab our credit cards to pay for the item, sometimes without even thinking of the consequences.
We’ve Become Too Addicted to Convenience
New innovations have been introduced wherein we never have to be physically in the store to buy an item. You just have to open your door and you grab the item on your doorstep. It started out with pizza, then with other food items, and now you can even have your groceries delivered to your doorstep, without you having been to the grocery store. It’s pretty convenient, right?
It’s easy to get hooked to the convenience it provides. You get to do your shopping all in the comfort of your own bed or couch. You just browse the app, pick what you want to buy, input your credit card number, and you can have it delivered to your home. Simple enough. The problem with this is that stores know people are addicted to it. That’s why they bombard you with information, make their products seem more enticing to keep you interested, and even decrease the amount of time you have to think about buying what they’re selling (we’re looking at you, one-click-shopping). Convenience plus impulse: it’s a recipe for disaster.
We’ve Become Too Addicted to Sales
Finding sales and deals aren’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it’s recommended so you can save on the items that you really need, or want. But we’ve become too addicted to it that we seek out deals and “good finds”, even when we don’t need it. In my experience, I would tirelessly look at shopping apps just to find out what’s on sale. I see a good deal, I buy it, even if I don’t need it.
The problem with this is that we lose disposable income to stuff we don’t even actually need. Another thing is that we could be easily fooled by supposed “deals” as most stores just jack up prices on a specific item then place “discounts” on the item to bring it back to its original price, with the jacked-up price scratched out to make it look like a deal.
We’ve Become Too Addicted to Validation
One huge pitfall of social media is that it brings out the need for validation. We want it. We crave it. We strive for it. And we base our decisions on the validation we get. Brands know this and specifically formulate strategies that target our need for validation. They target our vanity in the hopes that we feel the urge to buy it to get more attention.
Final Note
We are in a golden age of technology. Use it to your advantage. Be a smart shopper and use your credit wisely. Knowing all the pitfalls of technology can give us an idea on how to avoid them and work around the system. Remember that using credit the wrong way can easily lead to piling up huge amounts of debt. But using credit to our advantage can help build our credit, increase our credit scores, and be provided to great rewards and new opportunities.