American Thanksgiving is this week and the ads have been on for weeks. Sales, sales and more sales. Sales across the border and sales in Canada too! 

The question is: Should you buy it if it’s on sale? What if it’s a really, really good deal? 

A great discount can make it very tempting but is it worth your hard earned cash? 

I have a couple thoughts:

• Is it on your list? Is it a planned purchase or an impulse buy?
• Is it a need or a want?
• Is the quality of the good or service commensurate or better than the price you will pay?
• Do you really love it?

There are strategies you can use to make sure that you’re buying things that you won’t regret and that you’ll get good value from. Shop with a list, have an idea of the price you’re prepared to pay in mind before you shop and determine your overall budget before going to shop.

I recently saw an ad for a child’s party dress (’tis the season) for $15. It looked great on TV but I imagined one of my girls in it and thought, ‘I don’t think that would last 5 minutes without a rip, tear or seams coming apart’. After I thought about it, I didn’t think it was such good value anymore.

My mom always says that if it’s something you really like, it’s good quality and you’ll wear it often, it’s okay to spend a little more because it will last.