Banking Law

Twelve Personal Finance Mistakes - Learn Self Control

By Eugene S. Melchionne, Connecticut Consumer Attorne

Know the difference between ‘needs’ and ‘wants’.  You want a flashy sports car, but you don’t need it.  You need transportation to get back and forth to work, but you might not want that ugly Yugo.  But a Yugo is all you can afford, so lay your eyes off that new Jaguar.  It’s OK to let loose once in a while for a small impulse buy (if can pay for it in cash), but you have to develop self control.  We are not born with it.

All it takes is to learn how to be aware of your surroundings.  We all fall for some marketing tricks from time to time, but if you really watch, you can learn to see through the hype.

Try this experiment: The next time you have some free time to just watch TV, whether it is your favorite soap opera or ball game, watch the commercials.  I mean, really watch them.  Now while you are watching them, think about what they want you to do.  How many of those commercials want you to buy on credit?  How many of those commercials are selling something you can pay for in cash?  Keep a running tally.  What’s your score?

Patience, grasshopper.  Everything comes to those who wait.

Full post as published by Debt Law Network on June 03, 2009 (boomark / email).