Princess Dollars and the allure of incentives

There's this Stompin' Tom Connors song that goes, "We'll save a lot of money spendin' money we don't have."

I thought of it when I bought this absolutely necessary pair of Thierry Rabotin slingback heels on sale, for a party last weekend. I was given a $65 off coupon, good till January 30. I immediately beetled to the rest of the sale shoes, racks and racks of brands I like (Rabotin, Arche, Anyi Lu, Cole Haan) to see what else I could buy. That coupon was like a triple shot of espresso to my wallet.

Just a little minute. I don't need another pair of shoes, and I'd blast through over $200 even at the sale-plus-coupon price.

The coupon was bait for Princess Dollars; you know, when you get a $400 jacket for $80, like the brilliant shopper Deja Pseu, and then figure you have "earned" $320 Princess Dollars to spend on something else, not that Pseu was pseuduced by this incentive.

And if you have that mental $320 (theoretical) savings, and then they add a sweetener... whoosh, spending frenzy!

What Princess Dollar bait works best on you? Buy One, Get One Free? Private Sale? Coupon with minimum purchase? (I am totally hooked on Scratch n' Save because I once got 80% off.)

As we begin to refuse to carry so much debt, marketers have to find more alluring and novel enticements.

My favourite is a local prepared food store who offered free manicures and martinis on Friday evenings, if you spent $30.