A lot of people like the ability to act without thinking about the consequences, and while that feeling is definitely liberating, it may not be so wise. I advocate a system of saving for purchases and waiting at least 30 days before making any significant purchases.

First let’s look into the reasons why we should save for purchases instead of going with our first impulses.

There are two clear dangers of buying now and paying later: The risk of building up credit card debt and the risk of being disconnected from our money and making purchases without thinking of the consequences.

If we are irresponsible with our credit, we will pay for it. By making purchases with the mentality of “I’ll put it on the credit card and worry about it later,” we are getting yourself into trouble and will regret it later. The same thing goes for people who have the “This is not a big deal because I’ll make more money in the future.”

There are studies that show that people who use cash spend less than those who use credit. The disconnect for those who use plastic could end up costing them a lot of money in purchases they otherwise wouldn’t have made.

It’s clear that by making rash decisions can hurt us financially and implore us to not only spend more than we expect, but more than we can afford.

After looking at the financial reasons, there are other advantages of saving up for future purchases that have equal or greater value.

When setting goals and saving for purchases, we force ourselves to prioritize and think about what we really want to spend our money on. I recently saved up for a nice new pair of headphones, and while waiting for the money to build up, I realized just how much I valued them and how much use I’d be getting out of them (on the subway, at work, and exercising). It made me appreciate them more and work harder to save. That time in between was key, and now that I have them, I couldn’t be happier.

Similarly, by saving for a certain period of time, we also get time to reconsider our purchases. Instead of making impulsive decisions about buying the latest gadget, the month or two spent saving is often enough to realize that you can live without it. I’ve had an old clunky tv for years, and there have been several times when I thought that getting a new LCD was the most important thing in the world.

I told myself that if I waited 30 days and still thought it was necessary, I’d pull the trigger. Just days later, I realized that not only does my tv work fine, but there are a lot of things that I get far more enjoyment out of, like my iPhone, which was it’s own adventure.

Readers, are you able to delay gratification? What strategies do you use to ignore items you want immediately?

One thing I’ve wanted to do better at work is stay hydrated (along with being a good employee and a hard worker…), and instead of buying a bunch of bottled water (which is bad for the environment), I figured I’d buy a nice water bottle that I’d always have by my side (think about a sweet, self-filtering hard plastic machine bottle. I made myself think that if I had a better bottle, I’d be encouraged to drink more.

That type of thinking leads us to the worst types of purchases. Instead of buying something nice to encourage good behavior (which rarely works, like the person who purchases an $80/month gym membership and ends up going three times a month), we should start the good behavior, and if we can sustain, then give a reward.

In my case, I should have started reusing a plastic bottle, and only after improving my behavior rewarded myself with a nicer, more durable bottle.

Another example is a few years back, I got myself the Nike Plus sportband to encourage running more often. I ran more often, but because my friends were doing it, not because of my expensive watch. As soon as they stopped, I stopped, and I still had the watch! (Don’t worry, I’ve since sold it to get my iPhone.)

When we buy things before the good behavior occurs, we don’t connect the reward with the action. If I tell myself that if I work hard the next quarter, I’ll buy myself a brand new C.C. Sabathia jersey, I’ll be motivated to do well and do the best work possible. But if I buy the jersey and say that it’s because I’m going to be putting in long hours over the next few months, there’s little correlation and I won’t have the motivation to keep working before going home. I already have the jersey, so why stay late?

A lot of the “stuff” we get ends up as “stuff” because we buy it before we have a full understanding of how much we’ll use it. It’s not a great idea to buy a nice set of golf clubs before we ever go golfing. Instead, use a rental set, and if you love it enough to continue despite your sub-par hardware, it may finally be time to upgrade. At that point, you can be more certain that it’s something you will continue doing and they won’t just sit in the garage gathering dust.

It’s a much better feeling to earn something than it is to be gifted it. By setting goals and making connections between our actions and our rewards, we can really motivate ourselves and avoid the useless purchases that clutter our lives.

Readers, when have you bought something to encourage good behavior? When have you rewarded your good behavior with something you really wanted?

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