Most of us could spend a little less, but this is easier said than done. A click delivers a plethora of products to our doorstep.
The financial struggle that follows blowing money on discretionary purchases makes us feel terrible about ourselves. It’s a habit that we can break.
One strategy for breaking this habit is to sleep on a purchase decision before making it. You see something and want to click the buy button; bookmark it instead and sleep on the decision.
- If it’s $10, sleep on it for the night.
- If it’s $50, sleep on it for a week.
- If it’s $100, sleep on it for two weeks.
If you’re lucky and in a high wealth bracket, add zeros to the equation ($100, $500, $1000). Remove zero’s if you’re just getting started ($1, $10, $100). The principals of wealth management are the same regardless of the size of our income. And while it’s important to avoid lifestyle creep as you are gaining wealth, there is nothing wrong with wanting a ham sandwich instead of peanut butter jelly for lunch after you reach a certain income bracket. Just make sure your lifestyle fits into your long-term financial goals.
The pause can help slow down and identify if the need we had two weeks ago was a want that would not give us greater joy than being $100 wealthier.
Sometimes we will find that we still want or actually do need that $100 item two weeks later. But instead of buying all three $100 items we thought we needed two weeks ago, we only purchased one after two weeks of consideration. Pausing the purchase gives us time to ask ourselves: will I actually use this, will my life be better with this item, do I need this, and if I do need this, is there a way to purchase or make this for less?
Slowing discretionary spending makes our purchases more meaningful and decisive. Rather than cutting the joy, it allows us to slow down and actually enjoy the things we have.