How to get rid of the slave life?

I used to be a slave. Don't get me wrong, the card here is not a credit card, but a membership card. At the end of last year, I cleaned up my house and found that apart from clothes, I accumulated the most membership cards, covering cinemas, jewelry stores, beauty salons, hotels and supermarkets? There are numerous names. This is just a physical card. Now many businesses have upgraded and developed electronic membership cards. I counted them, and my 7788 cards add up to 4!

however, are these membership cards really useful? I looked at it carefully and found that more than half of it was never used after the first handling. The so-called "membership discount" has become a decoration.

not only that, but my consumption habits have changed since I got the membership card.

in order to enjoy the membership price, you should scan the special products before entering the store.

Wal-Mart, Watsons, Uniqlo and other stores have their own membership day every month. For the discount of membership day, I will take time to go around these stores every month to see what is on sale. When I see the special products, I can't help but buy a bunch of them. In hindsight, it's not something you have to buy.

will concentrate on drama and waste time.

Nowadays, video websites have also learned to be "smart". In order to make money, they began to work hard on the membership system. If you want to watch some popular dramas first, or want to skip advertisements, you have to apply for membership. I think the annual membership fee is too expensive, so I usually only buy it during the serialization of a hit drama I want to watch.

then, the tragedy came! After buying a video member, I always feel that I can't waste the value of the member, so I will brush off all the dramas I want to brush this month, and even sacrifice my weekend time to stay at home and watch. It's terrible to think about it. I wasted too much time and energy to brush the drama.

in order to make up the bill, buy things that are not used at all.

The membership system of shopping websites usually puts up such a slogan: "Members will get XX if they buy 299 yuan". For that petty profit, I usually make a bill, and all the bills are small but tasteless, and I don't need them when I buy them back.

in order to save membership points, I fell into a "bottomless pit" of consumption.

members of some businesses can't discount, but they can give away points, which can be exchanged for goods. I did this in a convenience store. In order to exchange a cup that I like, the consumption in convenience stores has soared. In fact, the money I spent has long been enough for me to buy several cups of the same paragraph online!

I believe that there are many people who have had the same experience with me. After applying for membership, we seem to save money and enjoy the preferential treatment, but in fact, we are "routine" by the membership card and spend more money. Then the question comes: why are we so keen on handling cards?

greed for cheap is of course the biggest reason.

I don't know if you have any experience in life: the closer we get to a certain goal, the closer we will spend to accomplish it. This is the theoretical "Goal-Gradient Effect" put forward by psychologist Clark Hull. The same is true for membership cards. When we apply for a membership card, the more we want to use it, in order to maximize the benefits. Merchants are using our psychology to constantly tempt us to buy in buy buy.

I took an exam in a school in Shanghai one year, and I booked a hotel nearby online. In fact, I have never lived in this hotel before, or even heard of it, just because it is the nearest. After arriving at the store, I found that the membership price of the hotel was cheaper than that I booked online, so I asked the counter lady how to enjoy the membership price.

The counter girl enthusiastically promoted their membership card to me, and told me that one in 2 yuan could be used all over the country. I didn't have much money, so I bought one when my mind was hot. Later, every time I went on a business trip, I would book their hotel. Even if the hotel's accommodation experience is not so good, even if it is not always the closest to my business trip.

It's a bit like developing a game. Merchants provide points, points, grades, etc. as goals to stimulate our shopping desire, while we constantly upgrade and spend more money for this goal. Morgan Stanley's research report found that Prime members shop 4.6 times more than non-members.

another reason why we are willing to spend money for our members is that we pursue a sense of identity.

the early membership system was permeated with a strong aristocratic atmosphere. The Bohemian Club, established in San Francisco in 1872, has members including American Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, etc. It charges each member a membership fee of $1, every year. Joining such a member means finding a sense of class belonging and a higher quality of social interaction.

this situation is also applicable to contemporary society. In December of the year before last, Starbucks sold Star Card in Tmall, and when I saw the limited edition metal black card of 1999 yuan, I laughed and joked with people around me: It's so expensive, which fool would buy it? As a result, I saw the news the next day and sold it out the first day. I asked a friend around me who bought a black card, why did you buy this membership card that obviously fooled customers? As a result, he proudly told me: that's a global limited edition of 2!

I realized in an instant. Membership card is not only a "discount", but also a symbol of identity and status. After all, in China, if you can afford Starbucks, you can live a "petty bourgeoisie" life. It seems that with this star card, you are different from others. You are more advanced and have a better taste in life. Which self-styled "middle class" can refuse this temptation?

There are so many "holes" in membership cards, so we should not apply for membership cards?

not necessarily.

sometimes, membership cards can make us fully enjoy the "privileges". Sam Supermarket, a high-end membership store owned by Wal-Mart, has a membership fee as high as 15 yuan a year (even 26 yuan in some places). Why do many people still handle it? One of the reasons is that Sam supermarkets can park for free, and things are much cheaper than ordinary supermarkets. The only drawback is that they need to buy in bulk. But for families in great demand, Sam Supermarket is very cost-effective, because the parking fees saved each year are more than the membership fees.

Take Watsons as an example. A membership card has many benefits, not only can you enjoy a 4-5% discount on the membership price, but also the points can be directly cashed in. Watsons also cooperates with other brands and shops, and the discount of membership card covers all fields of "eating, drinking and having fun". Especially in the birthday month, I often feel that I can get double points by hanging up, which is very suitable for some student parties with low consumption level.

In our daily life, we are not exactly "rational people" as economists say. How can we fully enjoy the benefits of membership cards without being "stuck" by them? After a year of practice, I also have my own experience.

first, beware of the promotion of membership cards in name.

If large supermarkets and merchants sell membership cards to you in order to induce you to spend, then street shops are a bit "cheating". My friend once told me that she was dragged into the shop by a roadside salesgirl in the name of "free beauty treatment". During the beauty treatment, the staff would tentatively ask her if she needed better cosmetics. When she finished her beauty treatment, the staff suddenly said that all the cosmetics used just now were the best, and they were not free. Then they quoted a very high price, and took the opportunity to say that they could get a discount for membership cards. My friend had to spend 2 yuan to get one, and paid hundreds of dollars more for beauty treatment.

What's worse, some beauty salons have lured you to apply for thousands or even tens of thousands of membership cards, and the boss just ran away. Such news is common in the media. Therefore, I advise you to be careful when you meet a membership card on the street, and it is best to refuse it directly; Even if you apply for a membership card, you should choose a regular large shop.

second, be clear about your consumption demand and do what you can.

as mentioned above, the more membership cards, the better. Sometimes, blindly handling cards will only consume our time and money. Before you apply for a membership card, you might as well ask yourself these questions: How much does it cost to apply for this membership card? What benefits can this membership card bring to yourself? What are your chances of using this membership card in a year? Think twice before you act, and you won't be so impulsive.

Take the exclusive card for the whole family as an example. One day, I went to the whole family to buy steamed buns, and the cashier promoted the exclusive card for the whole family to me. The benefits sound quite numerous: one cup of free coffee, one free commodity coupon, five cups of buy one get one free coffee coupons, and spending 25 yuan every Wednesday to return to 5 yuan? After careful consideration, I think that opening a card requires 1 yuan and cannot be used for consumption; The key is that I have three meals a day in the company cafeteria, and there are only a handful of opportunities to go to the whole family. Although the exclusive card is good, it is not suitable for me. At this thought, I refused to apply for a card.

third, do a good job of bookkeeping and clear up the membership cards that are not needed in time.

according to a survey conducted by a research organization, a member has at least seven other membership cards, and only 7% of them will officially cancel one membership card. If it is a membership card that does not need to pay an annual fee, it will be enough. If it is not used, it will be thrown aside and there will be no loss. However, after some people apply for membership cards, they will be bound to the automatic annual fee deduction service. In case the membership card becomes a chicken rib, the membership fee is not less.

that's why I always emphasize the importance of bookkeeping. The biggest advantage of bookkeeping is the concept of "money", and every consumption is clear in my heart. Download a Netease rich App, analyze your bills every week or month, and stop as soon as possible if you find a "useless and expensive" membership card.

The above are some of my experiences in getting rid of my membership card, which I hope will inspire you. As the year is approaching, I suggest that you sort out the membership cards you have handled in the past year to see which ones are not needed at all and "break up" as soon as possible; Which ones are not used very much and have to pay an annual fee, stop quickly; The most important thing is to apply for a membership card next time, think carefully and don't spend blindly.

Original statement: This article was originally created by Netease. If you need to reprint it, please indicate the source. Thank you for your cooperation.