Should I buy it? A framework to help you decide

Life Kit

NPR

Health & Fitness, Self-improvement, Kids & Family, Education, Business

4.3 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 17 July 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sometimes we buy things that we later regret spending on: a new sweater that's already falling apart, or a thrifted "vintage" vase that turns out to be a mass-produced dupe. In the moment, it's difficult to resist the temptation of making a purchase. But with a few pointed questions, you can make sure you've done your due diligence and buy something guilt-free. This episode, financial experts offer a framework to help you decide whether or not something is worth buying. This episode originally published December 18, 2024.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	On this week's Wild Card podcast, comedian Mark Maron reflects on being content-ish.
0:06.9	I can honestly say there's never been a better time in my life.
0:11.4	And I'm not even sure this one is that great.
0:16.6	I'm Rachel Martin. Mark Maron's on Wildcard, the show where cards control the conversation.
0:24.0	You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.
0:29.2	Hey everybody, it's Mariel. I've been getting a lot of desperate sounding emails lately.
0:35.6	Okay, some are desperate. Some are demanding.
0:38.7	Even vaguely threatening.
0:40.5	Here's a sampling of subject lines.
0:42.9	Time is running out on the best deals of the year.
0:45.9	Our biggest sale ends tonight.
0:48.8	Last day, $55 off.
0:51.4	You deserve it.
0:52.2	Take up to $23.43 off your next order. Our sale is still on.
1:00.0	Y'all, everybody wants my money and yours. The question is, what do I want? And what do you want?
1:07.5	How do we actually want to spend our money? There are so many moments of the day where
1:11.8	retailers are going to try to sell you stuff. And we at LifeKit thought it was worth coming up with a
1:16.5	framework. You know, should I buy this thing? A list of questions to ask yourself and details to consider
1:22.8	before you tap your credit card or click that buy now button. In this episode, I'll lay out that framework with the help of our experts.
1:30.5	And hopefully, it'll help you tune out some of the noise.
1:34.1	Seriously, retailers, would you leave me alone?
1:43.3	Most people have some albums, some movies, some book from when they were young that helped shape how they came to see the world.
	...

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