Hi there,

If you only had one financial habit, checking your budget before you spend – the habit I discussed in my last email – will take you a long way.

But why stop there? Let’s take this habit to the next level by layering on another one: Waiting.

Imagine you have the idea that you really need a new chair for your living room. Sitting and watching the game, reading a good book, wouldn’t it be great to have a nice, new, leather club chair?

(If it’s more about upgrading your phone or a new pair of jeans for you, just insert that image and keep reading…)

Your new budget-checking habit kicks in (well done!) and see that the money is there. But there’s your trigger, and here comes today’s habit. Do nothing. Just wait.

I don’t know about you, but if I made purchases at my first thought of them, I’d make close to 100% of them. The impulse is strong in the moment. It feels like I have to have it. And with the money in my budget, why not?

But the strength of the purchase impulse, its emotional pull, is exactly why I should wait. I need to give myself time to continue living without that chair. What’s it really like? And would I rather be sitting on that money in the form of a new chair, or sit on it for a while longer in my budget?

Sometimes, with this habit, you won’t actually end up making the purchase. And you’ll be happier without it. And in those situations where you do still make the purchase? You’ll do it with more confidence than you ever had before, knowing it fits your plan and your goals.

So here’s to waiting.