BEWARE of the aisle caps in the big box stores.
These companies are on a mission to move the money from your wallet into their wallet.
One way to combat the marketing genius of these stores is to stay on YOUR mission through the use of a shopping list. Be clear to yourself as to why you are there and avoid buying things you didn’t intend to when you planned your trip.
Remember that you are at the store to solve a problem. You need clothing or groceries or something that was enough of a need that you felt willing to brave the parking lot and the crowds of people.
Look at the aisle cap picture for this blog entry. What exactly is the problem that is being solved by those products?
Please think seriously for a moment. How many people actually woke up today and said with excitement: Today is the day I say goodbye to store bought waffle cones FOREVER and it’s FRESH WAFFLE CONES FROM HERE ON OUT!!!
Also, you already know what happens to the waffle cone maker. It gets used a couple of times and then takes up space in your cabinet until it makes its way to a card table at the next neighborhood yard sale or it ends up part of a landfill.
Stick to your mission of solving the problem that brought you into the store in the first place by only buying items on your list. Buying the waffle cone maker is not your agenda. It’s the agenda of the big box store and their agenda will keep you from winning your financial goals.
Using a shopping list is your best defense to help align your day-to-day money choices with your long-term financial goals.
A shopping list will help you win.