We all know money is good for only one thing: spending it. The real question is when to spend it. The following three items give you a brief idea or break down of when to spend your money.
When To Spend Your Money
1. Today. Spend smarter on current expenses.
2. Yesterday. Pay off your debt.
3. Tomorrow. Save money for spending later.
1. SPEND TODAY - Spending today encompasses your current expenses. You make dozens of spending decisions everyday and this is why this is important. You decide whether to buy item A or item B, or even whether or not to buy at all. And you even have to decide if you want to buy it now or buy it later. Whether you struggle or prosper with money is the sum result of all of these daily decisions.
What has not changed throughout time is the secret of successful money management. You must spend less on your expenses then you earn. You think you do that with depriving yourself? You do that by spending your money smarter every day.
2/ SPEND YESTERDAY. - This is the way of saying you need to pay off the items you purchased in the past. Pay off old debt, like cars, credit cards, your home, etc. This should be a priority, especially for consumer debt like credit cards and auto loans.
Debt can be insidious if used irresponsibly. It is not just the dollars and cents destruction that occurs, it creates a level of stress that make any purchase seem entirely regrettable.
3. SPEND TOMORROW. - This refers to saving and investing. Most of us think saving is different from spending, it is really just deciding to spend at a point in the future, such as you child's college education of when you retire. This of course goes against our human nature as we are hardwired to consume immediately. It is instinctual and it is how we evolved. So it takes a lot of intellect and discipline to save. It needs us to fight back against our instincts.
This is why it is easier to make it automatic and not fight your instincts. Most people can have automatic deductions taken from their pay and placed into a 401(k) retirement plan, and that is very painless and you do not even miss the money. But to sit down and write a check each month for the same retirement plan, now that is a bit harder and requires discipline.
Most people do not have enough hours in a day to build wealth from a wage or salary, this is why regular savings and investing is important. You have to force your money to make its own money, either by interest, stock market gains, investing in a profitable business or whatever. This is the only way an average means person can build wealth.
When To Spend Your Money
1. Today. Spend smarter on current expenses.
2. Yesterday. Pay off your debt.
3. Tomorrow. Save money for spending later.
1. SPEND TODAY - Spending today encompasses your current expenses. You make dozens of spending decisions everyday and this is why this is important. You decide whether to buy item A or item B, or even whether or not to buy at all. And you even have to decide if you want to buy it now or buy it later. Whether you struggle or prosper with money is the sum result of all of these daily decisions.
What has not changed throughout time is the secret of successful money management. You must spend less on your expenses then you earn. You think you do that with depriving yourself? You do that by spending your money smarter every day.
2/ SPEND YESTERDAY. - This is the way of saying you need to pay off the items you purchased in the past. Pay off old debt, like cars, credit cards, your home, etc. This should be a priority, especially for consumer debt like credit cards and auto loans.
Debt can be insidious if used irresponsibly. It is not just the dollars and cents destruction that occurs, it creates a level of stress that make any purchase seem entirely regrettable.
3. SPEND TOMORROW. - This refers to saving and investing. Most of us think saving is different from spending, it is really just deciding to spend at a point in the future, such as you child's college education of when you retire. This of course goes against our human nature as we are hardwired to consume immediately. It is instinctual and it is how we evolved. So it takes a lot of intellect and discipline to save. It needs us to fight back against our instincts.
This is why it is easier to make it automatic and not fight your instincts. Most people can have automatic deductions taken from their pay and placed into a 401(k) retirement plan, and that is very painless and you do not even miss the money. But to sit down and write a check each month for the same retirement plan, now that is a bit harder and requires discipline.
Most people do not have enough hours in a day to build wealth from a wage or salary, this is why regular savings and investing is important. You have to force your money to make its own money, either by interest, stock market gains, investing in a profitable business or whatever. This is the only way an average means person can build wealth.