A Musician's Fatal Flaw

One thing that I have noticed as a musician is that most of us tend to fall victim to impulsive buying. This is a belief that only is strengthened every time I go to the music store with my anyone in my band. Sometimes we make a trip to go simply because we are bored, which is the worst thing we can do. Sometimes one of us actually has a reason to go, and naturally, some of the others will tag along. However, once you're in the store, and you're in that enviornment, seeing everything you want, you're around fellow musicians and you're trying out gear, you start justifying decisions to buy things and making trade-offs with things you otherwise may have bought, but you decide not to buy to leave room in your budget for some guitar accessory you buy while you're at the guitar store.

I've done this too many times. I'm a guitar player and drummer, so I have a ton of stuff I COULD buy anytime I go to the music store. Sometimes I just get an extra pair of sticks, just so I feel the trip was "worth" it. The worst thing is when I find a good "deal" on something I've been keeping my eye on. When I see a price that is just unbelievable, I immediately fall victim to the line of thinking "this is such a good price, I NEED to get it now." even if I really can't neccesarily afford it.

I also realize how brand loyal I am everytime I'm there. Now, in my own defense, there are a lot of reasons for musicians to be brand loyal. But, I take it very, very far. I won't even buy a different brand of guitar picks because I'm that picky, no pun intended, on what I use. Once I settle into something I know is comfortable, it's hard to change. That is about the only thing that saves me from all of my impulse buying, because if it isn't a brand I like, I won't touch it.