It’s Hard to Not Think About Money

I took the day off yesterday. Well, that was the plan. I cheated a bit and did work on our business some. When inspiration strikes, it’s hard to ignore. At least I didn’t work on it as much as I normally would have on a Saturday.

I think trying to not think about money was an unrealistic goal. No matter what we did on Saturday, I thought about money. Maybe it was something that my son said. It somehow got connected to money in the web-like way that my mind works.

At least my mind has been rewired a bit. Instead of thinking about how neat it would be to buy a particular item and remembering how much credit we have available, I now think about the most important question first…

Do we have the cash available to purchase it?

If we don’t, the item gets put away. If we do, then I go through a series of questions about that particular item.

Is it a want or need?
Will it actually get used?
Is it a good value for the price?
Does it fit into our future goals?

It’s a more complicated thought process than before, but it has done wonders for our finances. Instead of digging deeper in a hole we’re finally digging ourselves out. I wish I could rewire my mind for a few non money-related things

Posted by Tricia on March 15, 2009 at 10:42 PM in General Personal Finance | 5 Comments »
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Mr Plasectomy responded:
Posted: March 16th, 2009 at 5:09 am
It’s crazy when you rewire your habits like that how much it changes everything. Most things no longer are a NEED. When you make that commitment to not just buy, buy,buy and then doing it for so long completely changes your behavior.

Such a long struggle to get out of debt I think would ultimately lead you to never get into debt again. It’s not fun.
Lagos responded:
Posted: March 16th, 2009 at 8:16 am
First of all great post, enjoyed it.

I always say – the need of money is like the need of doing nothing in your home besides resting. When you do it, you get bored really fast.
Only if you will work hard, you will really enjoy the rest in the weekend for example.
Same situation with money, if you work for it and do what you love to do in your life, you will enjoy the money, and the most important thing – if you work hard for money you won’t spend it like water.
Jack responded:
Posted: March 16th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
I’m always thinking about money. It controls our lives. I think we are both working to get to the point where it doesn’t.
Bill McCollam responded:
Posted: March 16th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
You sound like your turning into a satisficer. Thats from Schwartz’s Paradox of Choice – where he makes the point that too much choice and options can make some of us (maximizers) less happy – while not affecting those of us who can settle for just what they need (satisficer).
Kristy @ Master Your Card responded:
Posted: March 23rd, 2009 at 1:16 am
I can’t remember who said it, but there’s a very good quote out there that runs along the lines of this, “The only way not to think about money is to have plenty of it.”

I’m inclined to believe that. I can be sitting down to relax, watching a good movie, and something will cross my mind that’s related to money. So, I’m with you…it’s definitely hard not to think about money. I wonder if I’ll ever get to a point where I don’t have to think about it.