Waiting Blame: The Single Biggest Way To Save Rests On Patience

Success stories relating to money and saving often typically make headlines in the most extreme examples, leaving little hope or optimism for the masses to believe that anything close to that, for them, is possible.

You hear examples such as a 25-year old that has been able to save a few hundred thousand dollars because he lived at home and had a decent job and never bought anything. How about the person who retired at 35, because they shared an apartment with ten other people and ate tuna from a can and only bags and bags of rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

While those instances are easy to see as far as how you’d be able to save money, they often fall on the deaf ears of most individuals and families who aren’t fortunate enough to have a bevy of roommates or parents that are going to welcome them back, with their husbands and wives and kids in tow.

How about some tangible advice, the kind that everyone can fall in love with and subsequently be able to save money in the process?

The good news is that sort of advice exists, and it would hardly be considered tall tales.

The best piece of financial advice you can be given is very simple: patience.

Any time you are inclined to buy something that isn’t food from the grocery store or some other necessity, write down that exact purchase and item, and then let it sit for 24 to 48 hours.

Then, merely reconsider if you still want it as bad as you said initially or need it just the same.

Chances are, that way of thinking is going to produce quite a different response versus the original thought, mainly when you’re talking about things like a new cell phone, a hot tub or a third car when two will be just fine.

Being able to establish the difference between wants and needs is a lot harder than it seems. As a society in relationship to money, we’ve been able to convince ourselves that one is the same as the other, blurring the lines and thus making it harder to achieve financial freedom in the form of money saved.

The next time you believe that you are in need of something, just give it some thought. Think through the purchase and make sure that it isn’t an impulse buy but rather a much-needed necessity.

If it is, don’t be afraid to buy it that on the contrary, you should be scared of the result if you continually put wants in the same categories as needs.