Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Good idea for delaying gratification

Tobias Buckell writes in Delaying gratification:

----------
I have this thing I do, learned as a habit that helps me save money over time. I keep a list of cool things I want to buy.

Whenever I see something that prompts an ‘oh, cool, I’d like one of those’ reaction, I put it in my ‘things I want to buy list.’ That way, my brain is comforted that I won’t forget that I wanted that cool gadget, and I know where to look for it later to investigate it further.

But a cool thing happens. It’s not a ‘todo’ list as such, so it often gets ignored as I take care of the things that need taken care of right away. It’s often only once a month or so I go over the list.

When I go over the list, I will often delete items that, two months later, just aren’t so cool.
----------

I think this is a great idea.

(Hat tip: Instapundit)


----------
Technorati tags: delayed, gratification

4 comments:

Carol said...

It IS a great idea, I have also done the same thing for a number of years now. It works wonderfully!

Thanks for bringing it up.

Robert M. Lindsey said...

We have our kids do this. Helps them order their priorities for what to spend their money on.

CJ said...

Thats a great idea thanks!

Camp Program Director said...

I do this on amazon.com. I have 10 wish lists and over 500 items listed as wants. I buy something (rarely over $20 in value) about every six months unless I get a gift card, then I shop more often. I rarely buy full price--I do price comparisons with similar items, check the ratings, and buy used, just as I think most people do... Two thumbs up to this method (not as a back pat to me--I just did it on accident out of necessity (read: lack of funds)!!