I’ll admit it: I am not a patient person. When I want to do something, go somewhere, or buy something, I want to do it NOW.

My family is used to this. Here’s a typical conversation:

Hey, want to go to the movies?
Sure, when?
Right now, let’s go! (And 10 minutes later we’re out the door.)

Then there’s the time I decided I wanted a little camera that could fit in my purse. My husband began researching options and prices. I asked him to forget it, because I was headed to Best Buy. (Where I did in fact buy a little camera.)

And you know what? There’s (literally) a price to doing things that way.

The price

When you’re in a hurry to buy, you almost always pay more. You may miss out on great deals. And just “being an impatient person” — or not wanting to make the effort to do a little research — is not the best reason to pay more.

You could easily spend a couple of minutes online to come up with a better deal.

So if you’re like me, take a minute to see what the other side is like. You might be surprised. I know I was.

Turns out, you can save a LOT by being (even slightly) less impatient

What a difference

A while back, I put down some money to lock in the price on an entertainment center we liked. A $629 entertainment center, to be precise.

My husband asked me if I’d like him to see if he could get a better price on it elsewhere. Since we wouldn’t need it for a few weeks, I said yes. He found the model number for me, and in a fit of rationality I plugged that into Amazon.

They had it for $300 less.

$300!

A 30 second search saved me almost 50%, and it came with free shipping to boot.

What about you?

Have you learned not to pay the price of impatience? Or are you just naturally a planner? What are some ways that you save on the things you want or need to buy?