Some thoughts on the word ’saving’ (in a financial way)

I think there’s not alot more deceptive in advertising than ads like the following:

SAVE 20% OFF THIS WEEKEND ONLY. HUGE SAVINGS ON 100′S OF ITEMS.

The word “save” in this sentence is somewhat convoluted. Let’s do some quick maths.

Let’s say that we’re going to a store, and going shopping, not really for anything in particular. There’s a pair of jeans, and they are really nice, and we like em. We didn’t come looking for jeans, we don’t really *need* jeans (i.e. we have plenty of clothes at home already), but hey, they’re nice.

These jeans happen to cost 39.99. Ouch. 40 bones. But behold, there’s a 40% special on these jeans. Holy crap. How could we possibly not buy them?! That’s an incredible amount of savings that’s hard to beat. With that savings, the price is a mere: $39.99 * 0.60 = 23.99. OMG.

So we rush up to the cash register, and gush with excitement at the massive savings we’re racking up. We pay our 23.99 *1.06 [tax] = 25.43 and happily walk out of the store, blown away at all this money saved.

Let’s look at this in a different light. Let’s consider that we don’t really need jeans (I chose jeans because it’s an easy target, clothing stores love SLASHING prices because they have ridiculous margins to start with, so they can make it appear as if they’re giving the clothes away when in fact they are still making a respectable profit)… and as such I don’t buy them. What’s my savings then? Well, my savings is $25.43. An incredible 100% savings off the original retail price.

Don’t get me wrong. Plenty of times, a large number of times, it makes perfect sense to go ahead and buy whatever item is under consideration… the problem I have is that the marketing-speak that says you’re saving ‘60 PERCENT OFF’ is a foolish line, and has been handcrafted to make you feel like you’re getting the greatest deal in the history of all that is life… when in fact they quite possibly could be throwing you further in debt, or further away from a place where sacrificial giving is possible.

Rant off.

FL: Motorola’s new ‘dumb’ phone - They’re making a phone that doesn’t have a camera or internets… it’s just a phone. Sign me up.