Sunday, March 31, 2013

Dream a Little Dream



Dream a Little Dream

By Keith Bunn Jr.
March 31, 2013


the Opportunity Costs

Years ago, if I had money in my pocket and I saw something I wanted, I bought it. No questions asked. I never thought of the other things that my money could go towards, the opportunity costs. And by doing that, I have harmed the future for myself and my family. It took me far too many years to figure that out. 
"Children do what feels good. Adults devise a plan and follow it." This is a phrase Dave Ramsey says, as well as my other financial coaching friends, and it is absolutely true. We all need to have more patience when it comes to our spending overall. Some are naturally good at it, others, like myself, have to work on it on almost a daily basis.

Dream

I still go to the stores and go down the aisles that interest me, but instead of just grabbing the stuff I want, I remind myself that we have a bigger goal to keep, and that's mine and my family's future. My wife and I are not spring chickens anymore and we have to start think about how we are going to make it in our golden years. One of the ways to prepare for that is to become debt free while we're still able to work. Watching how much we spend and what we spend on is another way. We also have to have a back up plan in place, a.k.a. an emergency fund to catch us when 'life' trips us and we financially stumble. And finally, we have to save for retirement. We have to do this for ourselves, because our government sure isn't going to help us.
So in the mean time, when I go down those aisles, I just dream how cool it would be to have that thingy and not buy it. I also dream how cool it would be to be debt free and financially secure in our golden years and that normally wins between the two dreams. 
In a way, not buying the things I want now is like my self imposed punishment for not paying attention, not being patient and disciplined with my finances at a younger age. I know that doesn't sound very cool, but  if you think about it, either I do it to myself now when I'm able to do something about it and maybe fix it, or 'life' will do it for me when I'm not able to do anything about it and I'm just stuck.

Questions

1) Do you dream about what you can have now or what you could have in the future?

2) Are you preparing for the future?

3) Financially, do you struggle with being patient and disciplined? If so, what are you doing to become more patient and disciplined?

The main reason I'm doing all this is to give people hope and to try to inspire others. To make them think about their finances, whether they are young or old, so they can win financially.
If you have any questions for me about my posts or about your finances, you can call me at (616) 454-2046 or e-mail me at cavuscoaching@gmail.com. For more money news, facts and ideas, follow me on Facebook, or Twitter. Thank you!


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