“Managing your finances in real life – the fun way – is very much like earning gold in a computer role-playing game. Earning money is play. Spending money is also play. If you aren’t having fun, you’re missing the whole point” -Steve Pavlina.
How far you get, in almost anything, is connected to your ability to balance.
The problem is that financially we tend to live more within one category. We’re either great savers, awesome givers, or frivolous spenders.
Within this series, I am introducing consciously having a financial balance with all three. I believe that this balance can and will lead to financial happiness. Let’s take look at a couple of scenarios.
- If you are a great saver, do you ever spend money on fun things?
- If you are an awesome giver, do you give until it hurts and expect a miraculous blessing to pay your bills?
- If you are a frivolous spender, do you spend you money without thought and don’t have enough to take care of your basic needs?
Balance is defined as an equal distribution of weight. So to be financially successful, we have to live somewhere in the middle – balanced. Preparing for our future, helping those in need and enjoying our lives as we live it.
There are two extremes with spending. The first is to save and not spend. The second is to spend and not save. From the definition above, we can see that they are both out of balance. To create the balance that we need we must learn to spend money wisely.
I had to learn the lesson of balance the hard way. I tend to be more of a goal oriented person. If there is a challenge, I step up to the plate and give it all I’ve got. You may ask, “How is that a bad thing?” Well, it’s bad when you have tunnel vision. You’re so focused on the goal that you’re really not having lots of fun during the journey. Constantly looking forward to the next payday and playing with the payoff numbers creating anxiety. I had to always remind myself to take this process one day at a time.
How do we have balance with spending money?
To change the thought process of spending requires a shift in our awareness and behaviors. At first it will seem a little difficult, but once you start making smart choices financial balance is sure to follow. We can have (most) anything in life that we want, but it requires planning. I know we love to live on impulse, but impulse only leads to some form of regret. I’m sure you can look around your home and see things that you purchased unnecessarily. Hindsight is always 20/20, right. It is important that we pay attention to our spending habits and correct them for the future.
I’d like to share with you a few tips I believe will help us to spend money wisely and prevent the anxiety of spending what we don’t have:
- Define your wants. There is nothing wrong with wanting to purchase every new item you see. But you have to be realistic about what you can afford. Take a step back, examine what you want and determine how this want aligns with your goals. Is it reasonable at this time?
- Use the 24 hour rule. This is the best way to avoid impulse buying. Urges to purchase..NOW..are going to come. But they are very temporary and beatable. The urge can usually last for a few minutes to a few hours. You just have to stay calm, sleep on it and it will probably go away. If not, continue to step 3 to prepare for the purchase.
- Shop and compare prices. The internet and telephone are powerful resources for comparison shopping. If you’re going to purchase the item you would like to get the best deal possible, right.
- Fit Your Budget. Determine how much you can realistically save monthly, along with achieving your other financial goals (saving and giving), to purchase this product. This will ensure that your are really prepared to make this purchase without hardship.
- Negotiate. Is the product negotiable? You don’t know unless you ask. Be reasonable and find the optimum win-win situation for you and the other party.
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If you aren’t where you want to be financially, you have a few options. You can continue on your same path, try to make changes somehow, or just give up. The choice is yours.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! I wish you all the best as you take time to spend with your families on tomorrow, Enjoy!!!
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Did you enjoy this series? Please pass it on to your friends on your favorite social networking site. Also, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
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You are right on with your thoughts here! Spending money becomes easier when you’ve considered it in the context of your entire financial plan. For instance, we bought a brand new Samsung LCD yesterday, but we had planning for it for some time. Because of that, it was actually a really freeing experience to make that purchase. Also, none of the guilt (that could have come had we bought a TV the minute we wanted to) came as we were walking out of Best Buy!
I know that had to be an awesome feeling. Congratulations on your debt free purchase!
Happy to have discovered your blog! You have a cool series going here, and I’m glad you took the approach you did to cover all three major aspects of where your money goes.
One strategy that has worked for my family that relates to your five tips is creating a wish list of things we want. It lets us list and prioritize our purchases and research the best stores and prices.
The lower we can get the prices, the sooner we can buy the product, so it’s great motivation to do research. We put away extra cash each month specifically for this purpose and don’t buy anything on the list unless the money is available for it.
Great post!
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