Every Little Bit Makes a Difference
My wife and I recently had a discussion about our budget and why it was that even with a cash budget, we were still spending more than we should each month. After careful consideration, we discovered that we needed a small shift in mindset in order to make a significant improvement in our spending habits.
Unfortunately, I’ve always operated under the mindset that a few little splurges here and there wouldn’t hurt anything. And for the most part, I was right. None of the aforementioned splurges in and of themselves were significant enough to make a big impact on my budget. The problem was with the mindset.
Simply convincing myself that little indulgences didn’t make a difference always ends up biting me from behind, because all the little indulgences eventually add up to an exorbitant amount of money that was supposed to go towards paying off debt.
So with the help of my wife, I’m changing my mindset. I am now totally convinced that little indulgences DO make a difference, and even if I see that something I want will only cost me a nickel, I refuse to buy it unless I can do so with the money left over from my weekly cash budget allowance.
I’ve also discovered that this mindset can be applied in any area of life. Take freelancing, for example. If I’ve got an extra thirty minutes on my hands, I have to make a decision on how I’m going to spend that time. I could either spend it watching TV, or I could use the time a little more wisely and jump on Guru.com to make bids on some freelance projects. Sure, the TV may be a little more relaxing, but what if I’ve missed a really great bidding opportunity just because I decided I wanted to watch a rerun of Arrested Development?
So take the time to examine your own life. Are there areas you’re struggling with where this concept of “every little bit makes a difference” could apply? If so, change your mindset. You won’t regret it, I promise!