Why We Buy Crap We Don’t Need… And How to Stop
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America has a love affair with stuff. You love stuff, I love stuff, and let me tell you, some of my favorite stuff is stuff. But we've reached a breaking point here, and I'm telling you right now, I am done with stuff. Got an axe for you, George. Oh, thanks so much, Meyer. Appreciate that. Well, I'm almost done with stuff. Let's see what this is. It's my Grogu pest dispenser. I love you, stuff. Hypocrite!

Anyway, garages aren't even for cars anymore. They're for throwing Amazon boxes on top of piles of junk that you may or may not even use again. Whoa!

We even rent tiny houses called storage units just to hold extra stuff that we can't shove on our attics, garages, and basements. This is insane, and we are paying a price for this obsession with stuff. Get this: the self-storage industry is estimated to hit $72 billion by 2028. So why do we do this to ourselves? Well, it could have something to do with the fact that we live in the most marketed-to culture in the history of the universe.

Over $522 billion was spent on advertising worldwide in 2021, and experts predict it will be over $835 billion by 2026. And companies are spending all of this money to get your money. You're not taking my money. So in today's video, we'll take a look at some of the tactics that companies use to get their hands on your hard-earned cash and what you can do to avoid their psychological mind games. But first…

But first, hit those like, subscribe, and share buttons while I see what stuff I got that I forgot that I got. A pop it! I'm already sick of it. Shut up!

No one asked you. No one can say for sure, but the average person sees somewhere between 5,000 to 10,000 ads every single day. And that's wild. But it's not that hard to believe when you think about all the places you're exposed to ads. Social media, TV, streaming services, radio, podcasts, movies, logos, websites, apps, articles, emails, billboards, magazines, stores, and even recipe blogs. ♪

You know what? Especially recipe blogs. Listen, I'm here for the kale salad recipe, not to hear about your childhood memories in Meemaw's garden while you sneak attack me with 27 ads. It's rude. Anyway, companies have gotten pretty good at getting you to fork over your dough. So let's take a look at some of the sneaky ways companies are coming after your wallet and what you can do to avoid their little trippity traps.

First on the list is personal selling. Examples of this include car dealers, door-to-door salespeople, multi-level marketing companies, and those ruthless cookie pushers, the Girl Scouts. Now, personal selling is one of the hardest things to resist because you're interacting with a real person who's playing into your real emotions and weaknesses, who has been trained to convince you to buy.

So the next time this happens, just confidently say no, like a toddler at bedtime. And if you want to soften the blow, you can add a thank you to the end of that no. No thank you. But stand your ground. Don't let anyone pressure you into buying something that you don't need or can't afford, unless it's Thin Mints. But not Dosie Dos. Those are trash and they should be discontinued immediately. Maybe Dosie don't. Oh, roasted. Next up, product placement.

You think it's just a coincidence that Superman was thrown into a Marlboro truck? That's product placement. But there's another kind of real-life product placement that we run into more often, and that's companies paying to have their products placed strategically in retail stores, like on the end caps of the aisles or on prime, eye-level shelf space, which for me is the second-to-bottom shelf. Ooh, self-burn. Those are rare. And grocery stores are the OG masters of product placement.

Here's an example. A hot ticket item at Costco is a whole rotisserie chicken that costs just $4.99 for a whole freaking chicken. And guess where they place them? At the very back of the store. And that means I gotta pass every single free sample station, which for some reason is always run by a cartel of 78-year-old women. And I also gotta pass all those end caps packed with new high quality products I didn't even know I needed until now. And all of this is on purpose. And the crazy part about that rotisserie chicken is it's a loss leader.

That means they lose lots of money intentionally in order to draw customers into the store. And it works because it expertly takes advantage of basic human behavior. You walk in to buy a $5 chicken, and you somehow leave with seven items for a total of $385. So the next time you're in a store, don't follow your eyes. Follow a plan and follow a budget. Keep your eye on the prize, and by prize, I mean the stuff you actually came in to buy, not a happy hop, crocodile cave adventure, inflatable water slide. ♪

I have no regrets. The next tactic on the list is brand association. Companies want you to feel like you're living out your values and your passions by buying the products that they sell you. For example, people associate Patagonia with caring about the earth. Harley Davidson, associated with independence. And Juul, associated with, I assume, looking stupid and making terrible decisions. Looking at you, Morgan Wallen fans. I'm calling you out. You're good people. Morgan Wallen isn't.

Is that better? I'm kidding. I'm just trying to push your little Gen Z buttons. So what do these brand associations do? They create brand loyalty and it makes you a part of their tribe and it keeps you coming back. At least that's their hope. So your best defense when it comes to brand marketing is to make sure that what you buy aligns with the person that you really are, or at least the person you truly want to be, like someone who listens to better music. Catch you again, Morgan Wallen fans. Thought it was done.

Next up, sales and promotions. Listen, I love a good deal. Nothing gives me tiny joy like typing in a promo code that actually works. But this is a marketing tactic that gets you to buy more. And so are President's Day sales, Labor Day sales, Fourth of July sales, Black Friday, Green Monday, Taco Tuesday, clearance aisles, BOGOs, 20% off coupons, and free shipping with purchases of $50 or more. And listen, there's nothing wrong with sales and discounts and promo codes. I'm not mad at that. I'm a fan of researching and strategizing to figure out how to lower my total. But

only take advantage of these offers if you're saving on something you already planned to buy. So here's your mantra, never spend just to save.

Next on the list, convenient payment methods. We hardly even need wallets or physical cards anymore. We've got Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, PayPal, Cash App. Pick your payment poison. And I love convenience as much as the next guy. Amazon OneClick, Instacart, Autoship, Same Day Delivery. These are modern marvels that I'm thankful for. But all of these reduce friction in the purchasing process, and they like it that way.

And it gets dangerous when you can tap one button and 17 boxes show up at your front door, and you open them with only a vague recollection of what you actually ordered at 11 p.m. last night while you were trying to fall asleep to CSI Sheboygan. Which is hard to do because, man, that's an exhilarating show. If this sounds a little too familiar, here's a daring idea to combat these all-too-convenient payment options. Make paying less convenient.

How about that? Take away the debit card info saved on the apps and sites that you use a lot, or even go old school and switch to physical cash envelopes for a while instead of using your debit card or your phone. Now, the key here is to just slow yourself down to curb impulse spending and intentionally feel some pain when you order two gallons of hummus at midnight. I don't know, it was an impulse. What kind of a sick impulse is that? Okay, the last thing on the list of tactics that companies use to get your money is financing.

It's the most convenient of all ways to pay because you don't actually pay for it right now. You just kick it down the road into payments and you borrow the money. Now, this includes things like buy now, pay later, 90 days same as cash, and store credit cards. And not only do the companies make a sale, but there's a chance they'll make even more money from interest you'll pay if you don't make your payments right.

And there's a no-brainer way to avoid this one. Never finance a purchase. Don't even think of it as an option. And yes, that includes store credit cards. And I don't care if the person at the register, who's probably some 16-year-old teenager, said, would you like to open a TGX rewards card to save 10% on your purchase? Say no. You don't need another snitched pillow. Look, I'm not mad at the idea of spending money. But we've got to do it with intentionality if we want to be free from all this clutter and financial stress in our lives.

And while you're being intentional with spending, don't forget to be intentional with saving. And a great way to do that is with a high yield savings account. And a great one to check out is from online bank, Laurel Road, one of the sponsors of today's video. You can earn a great interest rate, so you're basically making money while you sleep, or at least eating your last five tagalongs, or even writing fan fiction for CSI Sheboygan, which again, exhilarating read.

And here's the cool part. Your account balance will earn 5.15% APY right now, and they've got a ton of great perks. No minimum balance, no monthly maintenance fees, and your deposits are FDIC insured. That means your money is safe. So it's time your money started making you money. Go to laurelroad.com slash george or click the link in the description to get started today.

And by the way, when a company has all this data about you and your family from all the stuff they buy, they can start targeting you with ads and not in a that's good marketing kind of way, more of a creepy way, like the neighbor who somehow knows what you had for breakfast.

So let me tell you how to keep your personal info away from the data brokers out there, and that's by using Delete.me. And I love Delete.me because they scour the internet to save you from all these creepy heebie-jeebie companies out there that are selling your information, putting your business out there, and putting you at risk. So protect yourself and your family from the risks of identity theft and online scams for maximum peace of mind with Delete.me. And right now, you can get 20% off by going to joindeleteme.com slash george. Just click the link.

in the description. So now that you know how companies get you to buy crap you don't need, let's talk about a tactic you can use to be a smart spender and avoid the psychological tricks. And it's an acrostic that spells out the word smart, because I want you to be a smart spender. The S stands for self-awareness, the M stands for motive, the A for affordability, the R for research, and the T for timing. And the process here is simple.

If you can answer five questions with a resounding yes, then you can purchase with confidence and intentionality instead of impulse and regret. So let's start with the S for self-awareness. Ask yourself, will this add value to my life? Does this have real utility or am I going to use it once and forget about it?

about it. If you can say yes, move on to the M for motive. Ask yourself, am I buying this for the right reason? A lot of the times it's retail therapy. It's emotional. There's some pressure from outside forces like family or friends. You got to make sure you've got the right motive. Once you do, the next one is the A for affordability. Is this in my budget?

If America answered this correctly, we would be $0 in debt. If you don't have the money to buy it today, don't buy it today. If you can say yes, it's in the budget, move on to the R for research. Is this the best option, retailer, and price? This is where most people skip and they get screwed on the deal. Make sure it's not impulsive. Do your research, do a little bit of digging, and get the best deal possible.

And then finally, the T for timing is now the right time to buy it. This comes down to opportunity cost. If you've got other financial priorities where it can wait, then let it wait and spend the money where it needs to go. So that's it. Five simple questions. And if you can answer yes to all five, you can confidently make that purchase. And if you answer no to any of these questions, it's a not now. You got to adjust your patience, your lifestyle, your motive, and your budget until it's the right time.

And by the way, always pay for purchases in full with money you have right now for stuff you already budgeted for.

for. That is how you secure more peace, more wealth, and a lot less regret. So if you remember nothing else from this video, remember this quote from my friends, the minimalists, more stuff won't make you more complete. And I love that quote so much that I made it one of my 12 rules for frugal living. So check out this video next. If you want to know the rest of the rules, I'll also drop a link in the description below. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.