When I was a boy my Dad regularly reminded me to wait until tomorrow to buy whatever had caught my eye. Whether it was a baseball bat, football helmet, cooler clothes for high school or even my first car. The advice was always the same - don't make a snap decision, wait until tomorrow before you decide.
It was good advice for a number of different reasons. First, we all face sudden temptation. Something that we weren't even aware of yesterday is thrust into our consciousness and we think that we must have it. Now. The world makes it very easy to succumb to that temptation. But, every time we reply 'wait til tomorrow' we make it easier to handle the next temptation that we'll face.
The second reason is obvious. Often, we find that whatever we fell in love with yesterday, we've fallen out of love with today. It just doesn't seem so important. And, in fact, it isn't so important. There's a good chance that if we wait just one more day we'll forget about it entirely.
The third reason is that waiting til tomorrow gives us a chance to discover other alternatives. Alternatives that won't cost as much and can make us just as happy as the purchase might. It could be that we already own or could borrow an acceptable substitute.
Fourthly, by waiting til tomorrow we get a chance to do some price and product comparison. Perhaps a competitor's product would better suit our needs or could be bought for less. Maybe we'd be better served with the next model up or next model down.
Finally, we put ourselves in control when we wait til tomorrow. We're not driven by some marketing expert. We refuse to let them push our buttons and make us do what they want. We've taken control of ourselves and like the freedom that gives us.
By facing a desire and consciously deciding to wait til tomorrow we've taken a big step to Financial Independence.
So what do you think? Could a simple decision to postpone purchases until tomorrow really make such a difference? Send an email or comment below and share your thoughts. Let others benefit from your wisdom!
