The Stranger Test

I've had this come up so many of the PF bloggers I read, I don't know who I would even link back to. Just to let you know, this wasn't my idea.

Let's say you're grocery shopping, or looking for a gift for a loved one when something amazing catches your eye. You tried to walk away and forget about it but you find yourself back in front of it. You can think of 5 immediate reasons why you need it. Heck, if you knew about it, you would already have it! As you reach for it, the stranger test is to image a stranger offering you the item or "free money" for the value of the item. Which will you pick?

The key points are to use a stranger - people you know come with emotional attachments. Your shop-aholic friend will tell you to go for it. Your MBA friend will tell you to take the "free" money. It has to free money to help weigh how important this item is to you. When you think of your own money, it's easier to let go. And it has to be a person, not an object.

I've put some on my unplanned purchases to this test. Almost all of them, I would take the item. There were the fries before a dinner invite - great because they hadn't even started cooking when we showed up and I was starving! A Tim Horton's sandwich meal on a day I ate my whole lunch by 10 am. A $1 drink on a hot day while working outside. A Christmas present for my sister, something I think she'll love. Tums for my constant heartburn. Actually... I can't think of any purchases this week where I would take the money over the item.

Maybe it's time to up my food budget?