Let’s talk about impulse decisions because I definitely fall victim of those ones. Not to say that I don’t enjoy those decisions. In fact, most of the time I actually do very much enjoy them, and perhaps that’s the reason why I keep on embarking on those impulse decisions. One… right after the other. 

And if that wouldn’t impact my financial situation, I guess it wouldn’t bother me that much, or let’s say, it wouldn’t trigger me to think about it in the meantime… but it is. 

You see, while reading, researching and trying to understand why we buy the things we do, and what triggers us to do it, I completely wiped out the impact of which generation you are part of. Each generation has different triggers and that is because they have grown up in specific atmospheres that impact their spending behaviors. 

… and that’s quite a blind spot if you ask me. 

The more we understand ourselves, the better we are at making decisions. 

So… here I am, part of Generation Y or the “millennials”. 

According to this poll, 9 out of 10 millennials admitted impulse buying… or shopping. 

Recently, I made an impulse purchase… on which I have kind of regretted the next day. I wanted to refund it, but it was nonrefundable… 

That regret… is a cognitive or behavioral bias called “Buyer’s remorse”. It’s a sense of regret you feel after making a big purchase, perhaps like an apartment or a car. However, in my case, it was much less. 

It was a travel trip. Whohoo! Only if you knew the excitement I feel about going to a new place… to see new people. It’s a thrill. So, you would think… Why did you feel that buyer’s remorse?

I would simply tell you… That thrill doesn’t come without impacting my finances, among other stuff… and that, in my opinion, was one of the top reasons I felt that remorse, followed by my limited time to do other things I wanted to do.

It was nonrefundable… so I had to go through it anyway and travel. Otherwise, I would lose the whole amount, which then makes me stupid. Ughh… such a burden? Is it? Not, really.

I started to rationalize my choice, think of all the positive scenarios and justify the reasons why I made this purchase in the first place. I tried to dilute the negatives. I convinced myself that not traveling is actually a very bad idea — that my friend is a cognitive bias called “Choice-supportive bias”.

Long story short, after going back and forth with my thoughts, panicking a little to my friends, then going through my decision, I had an absolute blast. After all, I am a millennial, and we sure as hell love new experiences. 

So… that makes me want to take more impulse decisions, which makes me wonder… How is that helping my finances? This vicious cycle from hell. Trying to figure out this one.

But let’s just say, next time, when I do make an impulse decision, I hope I will be more conscious about it… and realize it while I am doing it, not the next day.

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