The Tab Technique has single-handedly saved me sooo much money over the years while also forcing me to think about what I value most in my life.
We all get the urge to buy a new this or replace an old that from time to time. This is human nature, especially in today’s consumerism society in which we live.
Ask yourself this: how much stuff have you bought this week alone that you didn’t plan on? If none (although unlikely) replace week with month.
Whether it was the item you tossed in the cart while your were grocery shopping, or that shirt you had to have while going to Target for laundry detergent, or the newest tech item that you had to upgrade even though your iphone was working just fine, or you were simply just bored or sad and thought some retail therapy would help.
We have all been there, I’m guilty of this too. And Amazon, and other retail stores all anticipate this as well. There is a reason the women’s clothes section is much closer to the front of the store in Target and a reason Amazon suggests 3 similar or “often purchased together” items when you buy something.
We are impulsive. Even more so if you can catch us in our feelings.
The Tab Technique
How I combat my own human nature is through the Tab Technique. For any purchase I want to make either online or in the store. I go home, open my laptop, search the item and leave it up and open in a tab on my browser.
I then force myself to wait at least 3 days before I make the purchase. If after three days, the item is both still on my mind/in my tabs and something that likely would still provide value to my life, I’ll buy it.
But what I have found, is that by day 3 I have often forgotten that I wanted to purchase this item in the first place or I found a better solution for the problem I was trying to solve with my purchase.
This both saves me money, but it also helps me curb my impulsiveness while practicing delayed gratification for items I really want. It makes me appreciate what I purchase that much more.
Example 1
Since I have been in Boston, I use a lot more public transportation than I ever had in the past to go into the city. This often led to long days being spent there and with that, meant my phone dying and me being completely lost by the end of the day. I’m far too dependent on my GPS (Typical millenial).
Back home, I was use to driving everywhere, so I just plugged my phone into my car, problem solved. Here, my friends all carried quick charge portable chargers in their coats or bags to avoid this problem. So I wanted to buy one.
But, I stuck to the Tab Technique. I put a nice middle of the line charger in a tab, and probably kept it there for a good 5 days. By day 5, I still realized I still wanted and needed a charger for when I was out in the city.
Asking bartenders, and Lyft drivers just wasn’t cutting it, so I bought it and I absolutely love it. And because I delayed this purchase, when it arrived, I was that much more excited than had purchased it the day I felt like I needed it.
And mind you, this was for a $25 dollar portable charger, but I still stuck to the Tab Technique.
Example 2
After not using my ipad for awhile, I ended up bringing it with me on my flight back home so that I could download some Netflix shows at the airport to watch on the plane. I turned my ipad on and went to try and use the apps.
Except what I found, was that the IOS on my ipad didn’t support many of the updates my apps needed for use. I was instantly annoyed. How was I suppose to download Blue Planet and let that British guys calming voice put me to sleep??
I went online almost immediately to look at the prices of what new or refurbished ipads were going for these days. They really weren’t very expensive. I wanted one that instant but I knew I wouldn’t have it for that trip anyways so I put it in the tab.
By the time that I had reopened that tab again, I had completely forgotten that the ipad was even there still. So clearly, in my everyday life, a new ipad brought me no increased value. I didn’t even realize I didn’t have one. So I exited out of the tab.
I saved my money, and didn’t make any sacrifices towards my life.
Money vs Value
I give both examples to show times where I purchased something and times where I didn’t. The Tab Technique isn’t something I use to make myself never purchase anything. Because I do make purchases.
No, I use it more because it’s a system that allows me to help filter what will actually bring value to my life. From this filter, I have found that there are few things that actually bring added value and in turn this has saved me money over the years.
Conclusion
Like I said, as humans, we are both impulsive and stupid with our purchases at times. We often question why we bought something the second it arrives, or end up never using the item more than once or twice.
But using the Tab Technique forces us to think about that item longer and it also gives ourselves time to let our emotions stabilize or our impulsiveness lessen. For when that happens, we usually can see clearer and we tend to have our priorities more in line with our own personal values.
It works for me, and I hope it can work for you too!
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Do you have a techniques you use to prevent unnecessary purchases??
As always, feel free to comment with any questions below or if you have any specific questions, click here.
