Making the Most of What You Have
Here at Construction Finance, it’s not really our job to tell you how to spend your money; we’re just here to make sure you have what you need to grow.
The reality is, however, that the way you spend your money matters just as much as the dollar figure in your bank account…at least assuming that you’ve got enough to cover the very basics. In that vain, a few months ago, the Wall Street Journal put out an excellent article on how to maximize your discretionary spending.
It’s Time to A-B Test Your Financial Life
The ‘too long, didn’t read’ version is actually quite simple: We’re often poor judges of what we want.
Or, to elaborate further, the things that would bring us the greatest happiness for our discretionary dollar are often quite different from the things that we think would.
For instance, if you like your cars a little too much (I’m not judging), it might be a worthwhile experience to try to driving a nice, sensible Civic for awhile. There’s a chance that you’ll spend the entire time longing for your beloved Yukon Denali, but there’s also a chance that you’ll realize cloth seats are pretty comfy in the summer, and that there are things you’d rather be spending that $1,500 a month on.
Conversely, if your date nights have always consisted of lobster and a $300 bar tab, give that food truck down the road a try. Again, it might be awful, but at least you’ll know. Then, next week when you go back to Chez la Fancy Person, you’ll know that your $400 ticket was money well spent.
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No matter what your chirpy neighbor or hipster son might have to say, there is no one right or wrong way to spend your money. The right discretionary purchase for you is the one that gives you the greatest joy, for the least strain on your resources. However, if you’ve been doing everything the same way for the last ten years, it might be time to vary things up a bit. Skimp once. See what happens. You may very well find that there are better paths to happiness than one between your house and the GMC dealership.
