Do think twice before making spontaneous purchases. Some of us Divas have a habit of purchasing things that seemed like great buys at the time but now are busy collecting dust in a closet or garage. We call these WWIT items for “What Was I Thinkin'?”

How to avoid these WWIT buys
Follow our Discount Diva 3-step test. Ask yourself, is the item beautiful, sentimental or functional?

Beautiful: All of us can appreciate surrounding ourselves with beautiful things. But if necessary, are you willing to go the extra step such as refinishing or painting to bring out their beauty? Also, don't pretend a beautiful object is really functional if in your heart you know it's not. Either buy it for its beauty alone or don't buy it at all.

Word of caution: It's hard to resist something we find beautiful, especially if we don't have to do anything to it. But remember, you only have a limited amount of living space. The idea is to buy items that you can integrate into your life in some way rather than to just collect beautiful things that you have to keep in a closet because you don't know where to put them.

Sentimental: Does the item bring up some fond memory? This is likely to be an item you will cherish a year from now. Just be cautious if you are an overly sentimental person who tends to keep every Christmas and birthday card you've even been sent or a box of all of your kid's art projects. If you are someone like that, consider not buying on sentimentality alone but make sure a sentimental item meets another one of the criteria.

Functional: Can you use the item as is or make it into something else? For example, we turned a 3-tiered mesh vegetable holder normally used in the kitchen into a shampoo and bath products holder. The item wasn't very beautiful and in no way sentimental but in it's new life, it's really cool. The key here is creativity and originality. Buying items that you transform for a new use can be the most rewarding part of discount shopping.

We don't buy an item unless it meets one of these criteria. If something meets all 3, we snap it up.

If you are adventurous and like things that are really different, so-called conversation pieces, you can still apply the 3-step test. For example, see the birthing chair turned end table made by Diva Pam.