Sometimes it is money. But sometimes the difference is a quarter. Not often, but there's times I'll drop a quarter and be too lazy to pick it up. So a quarter is no big deal but I still factor it in to the ridiculously complicated decision making process.

I just feel sometimes when I'm shopping I have to scrutinize things - compare one thing to the other - often really for no good reason at all. I sort of lose myself. Easter was a good example:

I go to the store to buy an Easter bunny for my son. I was SO excited to do this. I had an idea in my head before I got to the store of what I wanted to buy because I caught a few glimpses of the options a couple of previous times that I went to that particular store.

There's a large selection. Within 1 minute, I know exactly the one I want to get. But then I wonder for about 1 minute: I like it but would he?

5 minutes: I want this one, but maybe this identical one is constructed better in some way. Compare and contrast stitches and flaws of same style bunnies.

15 minutes: I figure maybe I should look at the other options. So I build a mental list of all the different styles of bunnies and how many there are of each.

5 minutes: I have found 3 bunnies that are acceptable, I need to get rid of two so I compare and contrast.

I've been in this section too long, I probably look insane so I put the three bunnies down, I walk away and for 10 minutes I pretend to look at other things in the store (as I think about those three bunnies) Then I meander back to the bunny section, pick up the three bunnies, then find another bunny that I hadn't seen before.

For 10ish minutes I dwell on the four bunnies, eliminating one, then another, then another. I'm left with one but I'm not sure if it's a good choice, continually I compare and contrast. I make decisions but can't hold to them.

Once again, I have been in this section way too long. I look nuts and I can't think straight. For another 7ish minutes I wander the store but I'm extremely eager to get back to bunny section.

This last part takes about 5 minutes:
I'm back. I'm tired. I'm mad. I grab the first bunny and head for the check out. Before I even get to the check out I forget if this bunny is the one of it's style with the least amount of superficial flaws, I go back and compare quickly, get the winning bunny and go to the check out completely embarrassed, pay, and go home.

IN TOTAL: I have spent about 59 minutes selecting a 5 dollar bunny rabbit. I could have spent 1 minute because I ended up getting the first one I chose. However, I know how I am: if I would have gotten the first bunny after the first minute, I would have spent at least an hour agonizing over the decision - just in the comfort of my home instead of at the store.

^This is a very general look. The timing is pretty accurate. I'm not going to go back and add it in to the above scenario, but I neglected to mention the comparisons of price, of size, of colors, the idea of not getting a bunny at all, but instead getting an adorable sheep or duckling (and what size/color/price should I pay for a sheep or a duckling)