A few months ago I came across a post Splurge or Save on vmac and cheese. I enjoy these “this or that” shopping comparisons. I heard a generalization once that women tend to talk about the deal they got, how much they saved on a purchase where men brag about how much they spent on the latest and greatest.  Regardless of which side of the scale you trend, splurge or save, who doesn’t want to look stylish at less than designer prices?

But personally I think the better question to ask yourself is not do I want that $1000 coat or $130 coat but rather do I need either one? Spending less on an impulse buy is still spending and if you put the purchase on credit, it’s money you don’t have.

As a nation of consumers seeking instant gratification. We have forgotten as Andy Warhol explained that “the idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting.”

Instead of saving money towards a goal, a camera, a vacation etc we go ahead and charge it. Thinking we’ll figure out how to pay it off later. This behavior inevitably snowballs until you’re buried under a mountain of debt. All joy or momentary thrill from that purchase long gone.

Imagine taking the time to save. Waiting for the purchase till there is cash in hand. What might be experienced  in the waiting? Can you remember holding hands in the movie theater; excitement building up to a first kiss. That is what we could recreate in small ways in our life. The anticipation. The thrill of acheivement.

I think it is important to curb your spending, live within your means. To determine the things that really matter. There is so much creativity lost in debt.

Can you find the joy in creating an evening with friends that doesn’t drain your pocketbook and pulls you closer to one another?

Do you honestly recognize what you can live without so you know where to splurge?

Are you ready to save towards that goal and revel in the ultimate gratification of knowing you were able to buy something you wanted without putting yourself under water. Ultimately sinking your financial boat.

There is a Swedish Proverb that  says “Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breath more; Talk less, say more; Love more, and all good things will be yours! ”

Well I would add, “Spend less, Save More.”