#769 When the thing you were going to buy is already on sale

Neil Pasricha

The Magic WordAdvertisers eat me up.

Honestly, whenever I leave the grocery store I feel like I’ve just been had by the lot of them. I fully confess it, too. I wheel in for toilet paper and wheel out with a fat cart loaded to the gills with super-size salsa, half a dozen danishes, and two new brands of frozen pizza.

It hits me like a hammer at the cash register but by then it’s too late.

Yes, I reluctantly pay the bill as my mind flashes back to the Me of 15 Minutes Ago, a barely recognizable guy humming down the aisle and happily accepting little sample cups of drinkable yogurt from sweet old ladies in hairnets while casually tossing brightly-colored cheese bricks and nicely-packaged turkey sticks into my shopping cart.

Irresistible, clearlyOh, I’m a happy camper amongst the freshly-misted lettuce and bubbling lobster tanks, but when I get to the front and get Cash Register Slapped it’s a different story.

If you’re with me, then you know this is what makes it so great when you go to the store and the thing you were going to buy is already on sale. Because suddenly the tables are turned and now you’re calling the shots.

“Oh, what’s this?” you ask innocently, approaching a towering display of toilet paper on sale for half price. “Half-off, really? Well that’s perfect because that’s all I came here for, anyway. And hmm, you know what? May as well get seven extra dozen while I’m here, too. … Annnnnnnd I guess that’s everything for today.”

Then you mime making a big check mark on your grocery list and smile as you savor the moment sweetly. Yes, now your wallet stays fat, your smile stays fresh, and you ride the fast lane straight to Penny-Pinching Heaven.

AWESOME!

roll it away

Photos from: here, here, and here

10 thoughts to “#769 When the thing you were going to buy is already on sale”

  1. I was hoping for this exact thing mere minutes ago. I had a craving for my Apple Crunch All-Bran cereal, and it is expensive, so I was hoping for a coincidental sale.

    Alas, no such awesomeness occurred today. (I bought it anyway. Such is the power of the craving…)

  2. I looove this one. I’m picky with my money, mostly because its almost non-existant. I just went to the mall last week to get Zach some shorts for summer and I had anticipated $50 when I got to the register. SALE! I only paid $35. It was great! I left the store with a big smile and an extra $15 I didn’t think I’d have.

    1. Excuse my saying so, but $50 for a pair of Zach’s shorts?! Don’t you have thrift shops, consignment stores or mom’s trading posts where you live? If not and you’re still wishing you had a new job you could be more happy with, there’s your market to corner Bekah:)

      2. I wouldn’t pay $50 for one piece of clothing. That’s silly. One store I went to was $15 for a pair shorts and I passed it up.

  3. Then there’s the awesome feeling of spending that money you saved on a treat! Or seeing something you want that costs exactly what you saved. Thank you Neil, I love this site and your Ted talk, and have shared your positive thinking in my own blog.

  4. “cash register slapped” is such an awesome phrase…because that’s EXACTLY what it feels like! It’s a big slap back to reality, but as you said, too late to do anything about it. Instead, I walk out of the store still reeling and trying to shake it off, muttering, “What just happened back there?!”

    As for the sale items, LOVE IT!

  5. totally had this experience yesterday on the way to the grocery store this time . . . with my nemesis purchase item – PANTS (which always seem to shred into a million pieces at inopportune times in my life and take years to replace!) . . . en route to find bananas and dates, I found perfect pants that fit for 1/2 off – AWESOME!

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