During the recent business restrictions, our gym participated in a “Stay for May” promotion. If I kept my membership active to support the gym while they were closed, I would get $100 to spend across four brands ($25 each) towards purchases in June.

I planned to keep my membership, so it sounded like a nice bonus. Yesterday, I used two of my coupons and to save $50, I ended up spending $120.

That’s the rub. To “save” money with a discount, you have to spend. You only saved compared to what you would have spent at full price. At full price, would you make the same decision? Maybe you would not have made the purchase at all at, saving even more.

Who can say which decision is better? As I wrote about recently, I have a beautiful little convertible that gives me joy every time I drive it. The only reason I bought it was an unprecedented sale that I was sure would not be repeated. I certainly spent more than I would have without the discount, but what price should I put on joy?

When have you spent an unreasonable amount due to a discount or saved more by not using one?