Let’s turn the tables here, what if we approached everything in our adult lives with that same childlike persistence.
Taking that completely literally, let’s visualize how a situation may turn out using that approach. The dialogue with a car dealer may run something like this…
Salesman: “..so, you like the car, why don’t we sit down and pencil something out. There are a few additions you may need..lets see..we need to add rustproofing and..”
You, with a big smile on your face, interrupting: “..why?”
Salesman: “because they don’t put it on at the manufacturer”
You: “..why?”
Salesman: “because it is something we do special for our customers and you really need it”
You: “..why?”
Salesman: “..to prevent rust from occurring”
You: “..why?”
Salesman: “..so the car won’t fall apart..”
You: “..why?
Salesman: “SO YOU CAN KEEP DRIVING IT…er ahem..let’s skip that for now…you need undercoating as well..”
You: “..why?”
By this point, the salesman will probably either throw you out, or sell you the car bare, without any of those fake upgrades with fancy names.
Now let’s get a bit more practical and apply this persistence to everything you do in your life.
Imagine yourself at the grocery store, list in hand but as you walk past the cookie aisle you see that your favorite cookie is on sale! As you reach for the package, ask yourself, should I buy them?
Then proceed to answer with the persistence of a three year old.
Why? Because I want them
Why? Because I’m hungry?..wait, I’m not hungry now..and it’s not on my list..
..I’ll regret them later..
You will soon be so frustrated with yourself, you won’t even want tho cookies and you will move on, purchasing only what’s on your list and exiting the store, drenched in the sweet aroma of money saved.
This tactic isn’t limited to the word why, and certainly not limited by any situation. Be persistent with yourself and make a strong point to work towards your savings, debt repayment or retirement goals in every situation you encounter.
You will be happy when that persistence pays off and you will have something to thank your children for. There is a lot we adults can learn from the innocent, persistent and often one track mindedness of our children.
This was a guest post by Jesse Michelsen. Jesse is the creator of Personal Finance Firewall, a place where he writes about navigating his family finances and saving money in every area of life, while still getting the most out of life.
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I haven’t ever thought about it like that but the why game makes sense. If you continue to try to drill down with the decisions you are making it may just clear things up for you. Of course my three year old doesn’t get any deeper with his justification than “because I want to” and then he pouts.
This strategy works great, when making a big decision (like buying a car), but completely fails (at least in my case) in every day life. When I am about to buy something impulsively, the ‘Why not to reward myself?’ feeling is usually stronger than rationality. And let’s not pretend impulsive shopping is women’s dominion, just offer the right gadget (I-Pad anybody?) and most men will loose their rationality too…
Haha. This post cracked me up. Nice…
I always considered myself to be a touch on the immature side myself (I think we all are to some extent, so the phrase immature is subjective to a degree)
I also consider myself to have a rather child-like addiction to gold and silver, a trait that I’ve come to embrace. Associated with dragons, no less…
Nice! I love the child’s perspective you’ve added! But it totally makes sense – once we start questioning the reasoning behind some of our purchases, we probably could save ourselves tons of money on the things we really don’t need.
@Kyle Yep, but sometimes the real kids have the upper hand when playing their games
@Lorne Self control comes into play here as well
but I agree, women aren’t the culprit to shopping problems in many cases now with all the cool techy stuff out there.
@Aury
It’s good to be in touch with the child in you
@Pamela Thanks Pamela, we can learn a lot from our kids
Spending must not be a curse. Don’t treat it like one. Remember we have to have a balance between spending and saving. Saving is good for families, spending is good for the national economy. Two-third of the national economy runs on consumer spending. A year ago, the national average for saving was less than 1%. Today it is a whopping 5%, rarely heard of on the American financial landscape. It’s good for me but not as good for the economy.
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