I am very lucky to have a chunk of disposable income every month. However, I want to invest and save most of it, because I recognize that disposable income can quickly disappear given the right circumstances.
My problem is a time old one, that I struggle with material desires, and how easy it is to treat it as play money.
Does anyone have any advice how to offset those impulses or otherwise make it easier in the moment to check myself?
I opened a high yield savings account and got into the stock market. Your desire to spend drastically decreases when you can see everyday increases that you don’t want to interrupt.
Another one I’ve always liked - Write down what you want to buy and sit on it for a month. If you still want said item in a month, buy it. If you don’t, don’t buy it.
I think a month is too long for smaller purchases, but 2-3 days is plenty. The bigger the purchase, the more time you should give yourself.