You are a fundamental force of the market. Start acting like it.

Today is Black Friday. It is a peculiar holiday because it is unabashedly about buying things (unlike the other ones that at least pretend they aren’t about buying things).

What amazes me most is how much people seem to enjoy the Black Friday sales and discounts. People will camp out in front of Best Buy or stalk a bargain online, all in the name of getting a good deal. Then they will brag about how little they paid for something.

It’s almost as if some buyers are motivated more by the discount than the actual products they are buying. This behavior indicates a power imbalance between the two sides of supply and demand.

If you struggle with spending and saving, understanding the law of demand will empower you as a consumer and help you make more sound purchases.

You are the other fundamental half of the market, and that makes you just as powerful as the other side.

According to the laws of supply and demand, it makes sense that when the price of a good decreases demand for it increases. However, does it make sense that these sales influence people’s behavior so radically?

Do you feel the influence of our consumerist culture in your life? Do you feel manipulated and taken advantage of by sales and ‘limited opportunities’?

These are tactics of the supply side to create urgency on the demand side (you, the consumer). However, you are an agent of demand. You are the other fundamental half of the market, and that makes you just as powerful as the other side.

You are an agent of Demand.

Supply and Demand are the fundamental drivers of every exchange in the economy. That’s why they are called the laws of supply and demand. The issue is that one side (supply) understands these laws more than the other side (demand).

This may be one of the reasons so many people feel powerless in their financial lives. They are literally being manipulated by the other half of the market, the supply side.

“people’s willingness to supply and demand a good determines the market equilibrium price or the price where the quantity of the good that people are willing to supply equals the quantity that people demand.” — Jason Fernando, Investopedia

It is important to remember that the supply side and demand side have opposing interests. The equilibrium between these two opposing interests is what determines price. Even though sellers may offer products or services that will purportedly benefit you, in terms of economic theory, sellers have the exact opposite interests as you, the buyer.

They want to enrich themselves at your expense. Simple as that.

To put this in the context of Black Friday, sellers are using their seasonal sales to create a false sense of urgency. Their advertisements are designed to induce desire, not demand. They hope that you do not know the difference.

However, only you can determine what you demand from the market. You do not need a commercial to tell you what you need. You know what you need. Demand it from the market, and spend your money in accordance to your real needs.

By changing what you Demand from your purchases, you can not only reclaim control over your spending but also literally change what is supplied by the market and its price.

That is a lot of power.

Demand is vital to survival.

The word demand is important when considering your role in the economy. Demand is pre-determined. Demand is self-preservation. Demand is assertive. Demand is vital.

Demand is not desire.

What is vital to the survival of yourself and your family? What are the necessary tools for the advancement of your personal goals?

If your purchases do not meet these standards, they are driven by desire, not by demand. There is nothing wrong with desire, but it is imperative for your health and future prosperity that you remember the difference between the two.

If you confuse demand with desire, you will forever be a victim of the manipulation of the other market forces around you.

Those Black Friday advertisements are trying to influence what you think you need, what you think will make you better off. They will only be successful if you do not already know what you need.

When you determine what you demand from the market, you level the playing field; you restore the balance of power inherent in the laws of supply and demand.

Remember, you are an agent of Demand, and only you can determine what you demand.

What can you demand from the market?

Literally anything.

If you blindly participate in the Black Friday festivities, for example, you may be telling the market that you demand fun sales and killer deals, and nothing more.

You can be more exacting with what you demand.

Maybe you demand that your products be made sustainably or with certain standards of production and fair labor, to name some examples.

Personally, I demand that my purchases make me rich.

When I’m considering buying something, I always ask myself: “Will this enrich me?” and I use the broadest possible definition of the word Enrich.

In these moments, I am asking myself: “Will this thing make me better off tomorrow than I am today? In my possession, will it bring a lasting benefit to myself or others? Will I have more peace of mind by having this thing (or will I regret it even a little)?

If I can easily answer these questions affirmatively, I buy it. If I cannot, I wait.

If it takes too long to answer these questions, it is already not worth the purchase. It is clearly causing too much psychological strife, which means I will probably end up regretting it or at least having buyer’s remorse.

In short, if I am going to make someone else rich with my purchase, I better be enriching myself in some other way.

This is how I restore my sense of control over my purchases and the balance of power in my participation in the market.

This is a personal finance article of Zeneration Wealth — a platform for empowering Gen Z and beyond with new ideas of financial wealth and well being. As a community, we are creating a new paradigm of success. If you have your own thoughts on these topics, feel free to reply to this post to keep the conversation going.

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