So, you have some money burning a hole in your pocket. What you want to know is how do you play the money game to win?
The first thing to do is to stop and ask yourself a question: “What do I really want from life?” If you don’t know what you want from life, how will you know whether or not the item you want to buy is something you really need? Remember, you work hard for your money, so you want to make every cent count. You want every dime that you spend to be worth the amount of life energy you spent in accumulating it, right?
I want you to have as much happiness as you can get throughout life, and the wise use of money is a major factor in how happy we feel. Yet at the same time I want you to be able to save enough money to meet your future expenses, while avoiding the feeling that you have to exist in a lifelong state of deprivation. So, how do you balance all these things?
This principle is so simple that most people miss it. Know exactly what you want out of life. That’s it. Figure out where you are going and what you need to get there, and then only spend your money on things that will help you move along the way.
Let’s take an example. Say you have $10 in your pocket. One day you find yourself at the mall with some friends, and they decide that they want something to eat. You go along because you enjoy their company, even though you’re not very hungry yourself. What’s the best thing for you to do with your money? Buy lunch anyway and then leave most of it on the plate, or have a glass of water while you chat with your friends as they eat? What is the primary point of being with your friends? Is it to spend time talking, laughing, and enjoying their company, or is it to spend your hard-earned money?
In most cases we are actually seeking the companionship and not the cooking. So be conscious about what your real needs are in life, and you will keep more of your money. By asking yourself the quick question “What do I actually want?” when faced with a possible purchase, you quickly lead yourself down a path of reasoning that shows you how to best spend – or keep – your cash.
