Buying Value: A Guide to Financial Decision Making
What Do You Buy That Adds Value?
If you’re just starting to tiptoe into the “real world” full of adulting and obligations, you know the significant amount of responsibilities that begin to pile up, especially financial obligations. Like me, you probably don’t have a ton of extra money laying around for wants after needs are taken care of. That’s why it’s important to plan out your money so that you can cover your needs while still having room for the things you enjoy. For me, I had to plan how I was going to save money in order to buy my guitar because playing music is an important activity. The way it pushes me to get better and the beautiful sounds it produces are reasons why saving was worth it. But in order to get it, careful budgeting was required so that I could afford my needs and my wants.
I believe there is a line everyone needs to walk between never treating yourself and splurging unnecessarily. Both are extreme ends that can negatively affect your life. For example, never treating yourself to things you want can make you not enjoy life and view things extremely transactionally. The joy of what you are working towards becomes non-existent and creates grayness absent of color. It can become hard to stay motivated when there is no reward for that work.
On the other hand, overspending on wants can destroy your ability to achieve long term goals. Many young people incur credit card debt by purchasing vacations and assets they can’t afford, making the ability to grow and achieve goals near impossible. I think this is one of the worst decisions people can make in their 20’s. Instant gratification can feel good in the moment, but it can sneakily rob the freedom of choice in the future.
Still, not overspending on wants while still treating yourself is something I consider important to add value in life, and for me that is with guitar. In general, life should incorporate spending with purpose, not on impulse. A financially balanced life doesn’t equal a joyless, uneventful life. Quite the opposite, it builds value through smart choices. Through this style of living, you will be able to experience financial freedom and have fun along the way.
You must find the joy worth working towards.
By saving for my guitar, I knew that I would have to sacrifice now in order to be satisfied later. What I mean is I had to skip out on fun activities, often involving friends, so that I could put that money towards the guitar. I valued the future enjoyment the guitar would provide over the joy I would have gotten from the current activities. $20 that would’ve been spent at a restaurant was another $20 saved for the guitar. Although I could’ve gone to that restaurant, that would have delayed my ability to purchase the guitar. This is my example of not splurging on myself but also treating myself, even though the treating part is delayed in this case.
I explain my example of saving for the guitar because I want you to visualize that it is possible to enjoy things in life without having to enjoy everything available. Saying “no” now can open the door to accept an opportunity in the future. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, so choosing wisely is necessary for smart decision making. Financial balance makes you choose what is most important to you.
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