Recently I made about $200 by selling a pair of shoes on Poshmark. Yes I had a lot ideas of what I could do with that money, but what I ultimately ended up doing with it actually surprised even myself.
In today’s blog post I’ll share one tip on how I went about making the best financial decision (for me) with this newfound “discretionary” income.
Since we at A Step Above Style value your time (and because you already know why you’re here) we’ll jump right in.
Let’s begin.
Be “Robotic” About Your Financial Decisions
Another way of saying the above is to remove your emotions from the equation.
I say it this way specifically because it’s important at times to focus solely upon the math.
Let’s return to my example of makjng $200 from selling a pair of shoes.
Emotionally speaking, I was excited by this transaction! I had just made a significant amount of money while putting in minimal effort.
And because this money came so effortlessly, I instantly thought about how I could spend it on :
- A new watch
- More clothes
- A weekend getaway with my wife
- Dinner at a fancy restaurant(s)
All of these things were very exciting! But then I paused and thought :
“What if I made a decision free of emotion, and focused only on the math?”
This thought was provoked by me remembering a book I read by a wealthy author. In it he mentioned how most rich people manage their money in a extremely boring, and robotic way.
These wealthy individuals chose reliable money management strategies rather than the latest and greatest financial trends.
Rather than be emotional, flashy, or spontaneous, they use basic money principles that will bring them financial success later on down the road.
A follow up question wealthy (or soon to be wealthy) people ask themselves is this :
“What decision makes the most sense for my financial future”?
Seeing beyond the moment for what lies ahead is a life hack. Delayed gratification has made many people wealthy.
Spending less than what you make is delayed gratification in practice.
Conclusion
For those curious, I ended up investing the $200 into my Wealthfront account.
While it was a very “boring” thing to do in the moment, I knew it was something I would be grateful for in the future.
Yes my present-self deserves to be happy, but so does my future-self.
So I made the financial decision to invest that $200 so it can grow over time, and actually become even more than what initially put in.
“Boring financial decisions today will lead you to a exciting, financially free life tomorrow. “
Until next time, yall have a good one.
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