Last week I shared about how I keep my ego in check so that I can spend freely.
Now the next part of the “magic” formula I promised… (we’ll finish it up next week, because this one part is so important, I felt it deserved all of the focus this week).
The second part of the formula is assigning my own value to a potential purchase, instead of assuming that the price tag is correct about the items’ worth. Basically I figure out if something is really worth it because I only want things of true value.
How exactly do I assign something a value?
I weigh ALL the costs of the purchase against the value that the item brings to my life and THEN consider the amount that’s on the price tag.
I consider the hidden costs like the money and effort to take care of that item (cleaning, maintenance, tailoring, etc). I think about the space it will take up and how it will make my closet a little more cluttered.
Then I analyze how much value the item will add or take from my life. I sometimes calculate how many hours I spend working to afford a particular expenditure (overestimating for taxes!). I don’t buy things that cost more money than their value has to me. This quote beautifully expresses this sentiment:
“You don’t pay for things with money. You pay for things with hours
of your life. Make sure you’re spending it wisely.”
Chris Gardner (from The Pursuit of Happyness)
So the formula for buying whatever I want = checked ego + assigning value.
Next week, I’ll share how I buy things whenever I want AND without worrying so that by the end of this series (next week), you can buy whatever you want, whenever you want it, and without worrying about it!
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