Is Your Pocket Friendly?
Perhaps the most powerful connections we have is our relationship with cash; there are times when we are satisfied with our new spending and saving habits and times when we may squander a bit. However, money is just one of those things that will remain flighty due to this simple principle: as income increases, expenditure increases.
Scenario 1: We were once high school students receiving a daily allowance from our parents: #200 to buy toast bread and coke during lunch break, and if we had to go home ourselves, an extra #200 for transport with a cautionary warning not to spend it all on food. If the toast and coke hit the right spots, we were satisfied and all was right with the world. And maybe sometimes we risked spending our transport money on some hot cake and meatpie, but that was as far as our overspending went. As time went on, our needs took a more complex shade. No longer worried about lunch at school, we desired to explore the beach with our friends, to dine at fancy restaurants, to learn a skill which would, we tell ourselves, require a new laptop. Soon, we are forty and spending £165 on a pair of shoes because why not? We can afford it.
And yet, our younger selves cannot fathom why money slips through our fingers ever so often. Perhaps our attitude to money stems from the belief that there’s more from where it came from so why not spend on items we want? And that’s not entirely wrong, however, there are better alternatives to how we handle money and one of them is adopting the principle of delayed gratification.
Delayed gratification is simply the act of resisting a near reward for one that is distant and therefore more satisfying. It is almost like an exchange; we let go of a decision in exchange for an opportunity to gain much more. Money gives leverage when we consider that it’s a tool not just for the present but more importantly, for the future.
Scenario 2: As a new migrant, Safiyyah is glad to have secured a position as a designer in a FAANG company. She earns enough to rent a fully furnished apartment located in the heart of the city but chooses to remain downtown with her thrifted furniture pieces. Safiyyah is aware that she lives in a foreign land with little family support available to her if she were to be in dire need of financial aid. For a while, all goes well with the job, and Safiyyah has established a financial routine that leaves her confident with her savings. However, the company introduces a new policy that makes her reconsider her status as an employee of the company. After much deliberation, she resigns. Safiyyah was able to keep her apartment, pay her bills, and maintain a clear mind in the months of deciding what her next career move would be.
Delayed gratification is a skill common amongst those of us who have clear and attainable financial goals. Safiyyah’s goal was to equip herself for any unforeseen circumstances she may encounter as an immigrant.
Setting financial goals is important for everyone, even when we feel we don’t earn enough to dream. Perhaps with a bit of luck, some money may fall into our hands. What then, do we plan to make of it?
While we may afford a certain lifestyle, it is best to live below it. We are unaware of the difficulties that lay ahead of us and the money required to make an easy sailing of them.
What’s more, our jobs will not always be friendly to us, and a time will come when we feel urged to quit but feel pressed to remain within a certain income bracket because our current lifestyle requires nothing less.
Delayed gratification gives freedom.
