by Nick Somoski

Created on: April 04, 2009   Last Updated: February 24, 2012

By shopping smartly and finding the best deals I've always been able to save money. Before I buy anything expensive, I like to look around, do a little research, and see where I can make the best deal at the most affordable price. Unfortunately, I married a shopaholic.

My husband, God love him, isn't as smart as I am when it comes to money managing. Many years ago, when we were first married, I had just had our first son. My husband, trying to be the best husband and father he could be, offered to do the weekly grocery shopping for me. So, I let him. that was my first mistake. I gave him $50, just for the necessities, and he was on his way. Hours passed, and I started getting worried; I went as far as thinking he was in a car accident. Seriously, I was a frantic person once 2 hours had passed.

Finally, the man walked through the door with this big box in his hand. I asked him where he was (well, I screamed it at him), and he let it all out. He told me instead of going to the Farmer Jack, he went into the Office Depot that was right next door, after seeing a huge "sale" sign in their windows. He talked to a salesman, who kindly persuaded him into buying a $500 printer/scanner, which were practically brand new at the time. But, I only gave the man $50. How could he afford it? Simple - he put it all on credit card.

And 3 things occurred to me that afternoon so many years ago: I had to do the grocery shopping from now on, our credit rating had just gone out the door, and my loving husband, who was trying to be the best husband and father he could be, was an impulse buyer.

Impulse shopping is a bad, bad thing. Why do you think our economy is like this right now? Why do you think so many home foreclosures are popping up in your neighborhood, or why people are complaining they have no money? It's because people want what they can't have. Everyone wants to buy things they can't afford. They buy $200,000 houses they can't afford, and they end up homeless. Sometime in the 1970s, our nation became a credit-based economy. People started charging everything onto credit cards. And while the idea seemed brilliant at the time, people couldn't pay their credit card bills, and they raked up debt month after month. Credit ratings plunged. The stock market plunged. The economy plunged.

In the end, impulse buying is a disease. Whether it's buying candy in the checkout line, buying a new laptop you don't need, or buying a new house or car you don't have the money for, it's not good,

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