Since I started blogging about personal finance, I’ve been forced to hold myself accountable for my actions. I always cared about money and did my best to save money. I was just never actually accountable. I was never in a position where I had to think about how my actions would impact others. Now I realize that if I spend money foolishly and then come on a personal finance blog to write about saving money, I might come off as a hypocrite. I don’t want that to happen. I don’t want to be a hypocrite. As a result I’ve been forced to practise what I preach.

This has lead to me not buying the iPad.

I absolutely love the iPad. I’ve wanted one from the beginning. I still want one. I know that it would be amazing to wake up and just play with my tablet (okay maybe not the best way to start a day). I wanted to look at my logic behind why I still haven’t got myself this device.

I have other priorities.

I have many other purchases that I need to make and things to do with my time. I know that time is valuable. If I bought an iPad, I would spend all of my time on it. Likely playing games and not producing content for my readers. Is that worth it? Can I take time away from producing content? I don’t think so. I certainly don’t want to risk it.

What are your priorities like now? When I was younger, I would never think before a purchase. I would just make it. Now I consider all options and the opportunity cost involved.

I prefer experiences.

I love experiences. I enjoy going on trips, going out, and meeting new people. If I buy a tablet, that’s money being taken away from a potential experience. That’s many nights out or a portion of a trip. Is that worth the trade off? Not in my opinion at this time. I try to spend all of my extra money on experiences, trips and investing back in myself.

I’m realistic.

I try to take the emotion out of spending as much as I possibly can. The truth is that we’re all susceptible to marketing and external influences. As best as I can I try to take a step back from situations to see what the end result would be. I don’t want to spend money on something that I don’t really need. I don’t want to try to stay on top of the newest trends because it’s impossible to every stay up-to-date. New advances will always be mad. Realistically, if I get an iPad, I’m going to want to get the newest version every single time out.

That’s why I haven’t bought myself an iPad yet. I believe that you can have anything that you want, but not everything that you want. I wanted to hear if you guys have been delaying gratification with something. Is there a purchase that you’re dying to make, but just can’t pull the trigger? How was reading personal finance blogs impacted your spending decisions?

Martin Dasko

Martin Dasko