A discount label tells you how far a price has fallen. To decide whether a purchase is right for you, you need to check more: what you will use, how much you will actually pay and how that expense fits into your budget.
In this article
- Start with what you need
- Compare the amount you will pay at checkout
- Check the reference price and the conditions
- Check what you would need to change to buy it
- Decide where the money will come from
- If you use financing, check the full commitment
- Make the decision part of your everyday planning
- Review your basket before confirming
Start with what you need
Before looking at discounts, write down what you want to buy and why. Replacing a broken appliance, bringing forward a planned gift and buying an accessory you have just discovered are different decisions.
A simple question helps distinguish them: “Was I interested in this product before I saw the offer?” If not, leave the decision open and reconsider it once the urgency of the advertisement has faded. The Banco de España recommends assessing deals alongside planned purchases, price comparisons and the available budget.
For each product, you can make a list of three things: the need it meets, its essential features and the maximum amount you would be willing to pay. That limit will be more useful if you set it before seeing the discount.
Compare the amount you will pay at checkout
A prominently displayed price can change when delivery is added or a different variant is selected. Make sure you are comparing exactly the same model, capacity, accessories and product condition.
The following table shows three fictional offers for the same item. The amounts illustrate the comparison; they are not prices or promotions from real retailers.
Three fictional offers for the same product
| Offer | Advertised price | Delivery | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shop A | €149 | €9 | €158 |
| Shop B | €155 | Free | €155 |
| Shop C | €145 | €15 | €160 |
Check the reference price and the conditions
Shop B has the lowest final cost, even though its advertised price is the highest. Before choosing, it is also worth checking who the seller is, when they deliver and what return conditions they offer.
For announcements of price reductions on products in Spain, the general rule uses the lowest price applied during the previous thirty days as the reference. The European Consumer Centre in Spain recommends comparing in advance and checking additional charges.
Keeping a dated screenshot or note of the price can help you compare later. An eye-catching percentage alone does not demonstrate that you have found the best offer.
Check what you would need to change to buy it
The discount can be genuine and still arrive at a bad time for your budget.
Consider this fictional example: after her fixed payments, Lucía has €320 left for the rest of the month. She still needs to cover the expenses and keep the margin shown in the table.
Fictional example: Lucía's €320
| Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|
| Groceries | €150 |
| Transport | €60 |
| Margin she wants to keep | €70 |
| Available for optional purchases | €40 |
Decide where the money will come from
Lucía finds a pair of headphones for €89. Although the price seems attractive, the purchase exceeds the amount she had left available by €49.
She can wait, look for another option or consciously review her priorities. What she needs to establish is where those €49 will come from and what moving that money will mean. The discount percentage does not answer that question.
If you use financing, check the full commitment
A small instalment may feel manageable, but it adds payments to the coming months. Before accepting, check the total amount you will repay, the payment dates, the annual percentage rate (APR) and any fees.
The Banco de España's financing guidance warns that financing advertised as “interest-free” may include other costs. It is worth checking the conditions as well as the size of the instalment.
Also note the instalments you have already committed to paying. Assessing each purchase separately can hide how much all those payments will add up to when they fall due together.
Make the decision part of your everyday planning
In Finantzak, you can set budgets by category and period, record expenses and compare actual spending with your plan. For a shopping campaign, you can decide how much to allocate to the relevant category and check what you have already recorded before adding another purchase.
Afterwards, record the amount actually paid, including associated charges. Your next decision will then start from your updated spending, rather than the price you remember seeing in the advertisement.
Review your basket before confirming
You can close the basket and come back later. A worthwhile purchase should make sense in terms of its usefulness, its cost and how it fits into your life, as well as its discount. Before paying, check the following points.
Put it into practice
- The product meets a need or a wish you have considered.
- You have compared the exact model and the final amount.
- You know how the purchase fits alongside expenses that are still to come.
- You have checked the seller, delivery and return conditions.
- You can keep the order confirmation and invoice.