... shouldn't be forever!

I was reading MyFinance and found this week article is very interestingly written.

Three financial practices mentioned were :

1. exercising delayed gratification
2. committing to intense client education
3. buying low and selling high

So "delayed gratification" often means giving up what is good today for something great in future. His site is at http://www.freecoolarticles.com/

I first read about this 'delayed gratification' word from a financial-page ... years ago when I was still financially-idiot(still am ... but trying to move out of the crowd). Then, when I started my personal 'financial' journey, I read more financial-related books ... most of them putting it rightly ... many rich people lived frugally and before they were rich/well-to-do, they always practice 'delayed gratification'. So, I have been wanting to be in-control of my emotion of "buying items I do not need, to impress people I dont like" kinda situation. I was very broke ... and slowly realised how 'financially idiotic' I was. Facing to these facts is PAINFUL ...

It has been a good 8 years of delayed gratification!! And, he(the author) sounds the approval bell for me to start spending!! Yeah ... so, i do allow myself simple pleasure ...

1. A Klipsch pc-speaker
2. A 'final' earphone
3. An AKG headphone
4. Ear/head phone amplifier
5. An Panasonic home theater system

So, all the items I bought for the past one year are related to listening to songs/music!! I do allow myself to buy some books which not related to financial. These simple pleasure ... could motivate me to work harder. I do not need anything much else ... except the TIME to enjoy my simple interests : Listening to songs and reading.

What does delayed gratification means to me?

It just means that ... if you longed to have an item --- somehow, humans have the attachments to items/gadgets ... and luckily, I am still believe in non-attachment living ... you PLAN to purchase it much later --- opposing to instant gratification ... buy it using our bonus, our salary or recent extras ... worst point could be buy with a borrowed money --- we are still in debt, but we used the credit-cards to purchase the item!!

So, when we are in debt --- credit-card(s) or personal loans --- we SHOULD refrain from buying ANY items at all ... certainly not those latest gadgets. That is called delayed gratifications to me!! A total NO-NO to buying anything at all till ALL debts are cleared!! Earn extra, work harder ... do something to increase our income while live frugally. PAY off the debt first ... PAY ourselves first(10% of our income should go to SAVING) ... then, say after we have 'successfully' paid off all our debt, our income has increased and our saving grows ... we SHOULD delay further ... say, about 2-3 years .. to check if we are STILL a very discipline person when it comes to money!!

4 years ago ... I came back to KL ... and managed to clear off my credit-card debt ... the first and foremost debt we all SHOULD clear. It is a legalised tai-yee-long(loan shark) where they are charging 15-18%. So, if you still have credit-card balance ... make sure it is cleared(fully) by end of month. So, I m making sure that balance is zero in all my credit-cards. I do still use credit-cards for convenience purposes and for recording our expenses. All these could be found in those financial books, teaching us how to GET OUT OF DEBT.

Delayed gratification ... easier than done. Unless we are determined to be financially free one day ... we will drag it. We will give excuses and excuses why we should be buying or having some items we illed afford.

http://adamkhoowealth.com/if-you-want-to-be-rich%E2%80%A6practice-this-one-habit/


Delayed Gratification

On the other hand, all millionaires adopt the habit of 'delayed gratification.' They have the patience to wait for greater abundance in the future. Whether in business or in investments, you must delay gratification in order to create massive wealth.

People with delayed gratification invest a lot more than they spend. Again, they know that by spending a dollar, they may feel good for an instant, but their future wealth will be destroyed. When it comes to spending money, they are extremely frugal. However when it comes to investing, they do not think twice about writing a check for a few thousands dollars. They know that through patience, that money will multiply into a future fortune.

Millionaires never take shortcuts in business. They always look at giving the best value to their customers, even if it means earning less at present. They know that by building their reputation, it will lead to huge profit streams in the future. I cannot emphasize this value enough because I feel that it is what has really set me apart from all my peers. It is why I earn many more times than most people my age. You see, when I was in college and university, most of my friends spent their holidays partying and having fun. They experienced instant gratification.

Instead of partying, I would spend all my holidays taking up speaking engagements to hone my presentation skills, reading investment books, analyzing company reports and writing chapters of my first book. I knew that by 'sacrificing' my immediate enjoyment, the rewards in the future would be tremendous! Sure enough by the time I graduated from University I had streams of passive income from my best-selling book and two businesses that I had set up. I was earning more money than many of my lecturers while many of my friends were struggling to get their first job with their first paycheck.

Frankly, I never felt deprived. I had so much passion for what I was doing that indulging in drinking and idle lounge-lizard chatter just seemed like a huge waste of time. Nor did I miss social companionship. I had a steady, supportive girlfriend (now my wife), and a core of close buddies in these businesses we ran (and had so much fun and profit), while still studying. In fact a couple of them are still working with me today.

Let me give you another example. When it comes to spending money, I am extremely hesitant. Once I saw a mobile phone that I really liked. It was priced at $800. I kept staring at that phone over and over again but eventually walked away. I found it just too painful to part with $800 for a phone. My friends thought I was crazy as I was earning over $1,000 an hour at the time, whenever I spoke. But then again, I knew that the moment I spent that $800, it would be gone!

On the other hand, whenever I go to a bookstore, I think nothing of spending $800 buying a whole series of marketing, business and investment books. In fact, I once spent $12,000 attending an NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) training course in the United States, without even thinking twice. Why?

Because I know that if I spend that $12,000, the ideas that I get from those books and seminars, when applied, will generate me millions and so they have! But most people do the exact opposite. They think nothing of squandering $3,000 on a ring but think twice before buying a good book for $30! No wonder they are poor! So, develop the habit of delayed gratification - and spend wisely - and you will see your money multiply.

----------------------------------------------------------------



Enough said. Time for me to look at some charts. Raya around the corner, expecting thin volumes. I will not be trading either (packed my holidays with classes).

Malacca trip : I will be drive down to Malacca and stay a night in the city, on coming Saturday. It will be a holiday trip for my family ...

Night.

TEH