Provided by stock xchng user hasby http://www.sxc.hu/profile/hasby
A big question I ask myself all of the time is, “Should I buy this?” There are multiple different factors that can be involved in the thinking process depending on what type of item you are buying. I get questions from my friends as well about certain products that I may or may not know about. If they ask me about a particular product I will research the product and get some of semblance of how it can be used in ordinary life. I believe that if it doesn’t serve some sort of purpose then it should not be purchased. This minimizes on the clutter in our lives making for cleaner, clearer thinking. If I believe that it would be purposeful I then try to find alternatives to the product in question, determining if the price point they have set is reasonable to the features it provides. This makes sure that what I’m looking at is the best value that can be bought/obtained. Value is important as it helps us steer clear of the cheap garbage this is constantly cluttering our culture.
Once value has been assessed and it can serve a purpose the next thing to think about is if you can actually afford this item. Since the biggest problem right now is people buying items they can not afford, planning a budget and following that as close as possible is very important. Once I know that it can be afforded I will sit on the decision to determine if I actually need said item. Depending on the cost and need I will think about it from one day for smaller items like cables, up to two or three months for larger items, like televisions. Often times, as a student, I can’t afford larger ticket items forcing me to wait longer. If I’m close enough with the savings I have so far I can save up the rest during the time thinking. This allows me to determine if I really need the item, and if I determine that I don’t want/need it I have the saved funds with to do what I want. Win win.
This just covers the surface of financial issues and decision making processes, but can give a good groundwork to how I, as an engineer, think about normal situations. Let me know how you go about the process in the comments.