GMR 180: The Amazon Phenomenon

There’s are many ways that Amazon continues to impact our lives. The benefits of ordering pretty much anything from the comfort of our home to having the item arrive at our door within hours can’t be overstated. But there’s at least one negative impact to Amazon’s influence that can harm or do serious damage to your financial health. In this episode, we discuss this Amazon phenomenon, how you can protect yourself from financial harm while enjoying the benefits.

Show Notes

History of consumer purchases at Christmas

• Consumer frenzy (Black Friday)

• The “hot mode” has existed for a while but it was only seasonal.

• Now Amazon makes impulse purchases easy year-round in your home.

  • 2-Day shipping

  • 1-Day shipping

  • Package tracking

  • Most consistent at on-time or early delivery

  • Available in your home

  • Recommendation to similar products and what others have bought

  • PRIME Day, Black Friday, Deal of the Day.

  • Appeals to impulse purchases

    • Anytime a product is mentioned, there’s an affiliate link

    • You’re watching TV and see something cool, you pull up your phone and search it on Amazon and make a purchase

      • Used to have to drive to Walmart or Clothing store, wade through tons of products, physically wear yourself out

      • Now you can impulse purchase from the couch, with no energy and have tons of similar products put right in front of you

• The only way to control it is by having a spending plan in place.

  • Budget!

3 Ways to handle impulse purchases:

1. Put it in your Spending Plan

   1. Spend on Purpose

      • Set money aside in your budget for some fun / impulsive purchases, it’s ok to have fun with your money 

   2. Save Before You Spend

      • Only make impulse purchases in areas where you already have money set aside in your budget

2. Instead of purchasing the item right away, put it in your “Wish List”

   1. Set up a wishlist for your birthday and Christmas, so that people can see your list and buy things for you on these occasions, it makes shopping for your easier and if you wait for 24hrs after you’ve put something on your “Wish List” and you still want to get it, then go for it. Usually, the 24hr cool-down will get you out of hot mode and help you make better spending decisions.

3. Figure out the root cause of your spending

   1. Episode 98 & 99

   2. This takes time and self-reflection

      1. You have to be self-aware of when you typically make these purchases, what triggers them, and the feelings you have before and after making a purchase

Resources

Budgeting tools and other free resources - https://leosabo.com/resources
David’s website - www.stewardshippastors.com