subject: Sticking to a Budget When Shopping on Satellite Internet [print this page] Sticking to a Budget When Shopping on Satellite Internet
These days, with the ease of getting online provided by satellite Internet broadband, there seems to be no limit in the amount of shopping you can do while mindlessly surfing the web. No longer do you have to drive or walk to the local mall or shopping district and physically move yourself from store to store, accumulating your purchases in increasingly heavy bags that remind you of how much you've bought. Nope, today all you have to do is cozy up to your computer while wearing your pajamas, and click away with a credit card in hand.
This ease of shopping has gotten some consumers into trouble. For them, satellite Internet has enabled a destructive pattern of debt accumulation. One moment, they're simply browsing through some summer dresses, the next they're $400 in the hole to the Gap. And it's so temptingly convenient too the purchases are delivered right to your door!
Well clearly satellite Internet is not going to go away, so the trick is to find a way to stick to a budget while shopping online. Here are some easy tips to follow that can help you curb your over-spending today.
Have a separate credit card for online purchases.
Instead of using your regular card with a $20,000 limit, have a card set aside for Internet shopping that has a much lower limit maybe $1,000 to $2,000 or so. This may make you feel like you're back in college again, but what do you really need to buy online that costs more than two grand? If there is such a purchase say you're ordering a new washer and dryer for the house you can always make a specific exception and use your card with a higher limit. But these rare circumstances aside, by artificially limiting the amount of money you can spend, you're less likely to go too far into the red.
Begin shopping with a list.
Say you're looking for a new pair of work shoes. While scrolling through all those pictures of lifeless brown leather loafers, it can be tempting to veer off into The Land of Strappy Sandals and Kitten Pumps. But before you click "Add to Cart," you can glance back at your list and refresh your memory as to why you're on Zappo's in the first place.
Remind yourself that online stock doesn't vanish as quickly.
One of the beautiful things about satellite Internet is that shopping is no longer constrained by physical space. If the store in your hometown doesn't have whatever you're looking for, you can go online and order directly from the company warehouse in Connecticut, and maybe even get a deal! Remind yourself that this isn't like a sale in a brick-and-mortar store no one's going to take the last "medium" 5 minutes after you walk out the door, leaving you to die wondering what it would have been like to own that mustard yellow cardigan. It will be there tomorrow, and so you can take a day or two to think it over and decide if you really want (or, even better, need) it.
Compare prices.
Another benefit to shopping online is the ease of checking prices between different retailers. Theoretically you could drive to three different home supply stores to see who has the best deal on lawnmowers, but who has that kind of time? Shopping on the Internet, there's no excuse. So do your homework and make sure you're paying as little as possible. Your bottom line will thank you for the extra 10 minutes of clicking.
