Are you? Or do you even know?
Spending on purpose is a strategy where you allocate your income to those vital few things, your dreams and personal aspirations that give your lifestyle the edge, that give you the feeling that it really is meaningful and in sync with your values.
3 BEEFS WITH SAVING [unless you are already enjoying the above]:
#1. Saving while you are carrying debt that racks up interest charges of 10%, 12% or 24% is nuts. The difference between what you could earn on today’s best saving rates and what you are paying out on your credit card or auto loans is astronomical. You can’t win.
#2. To squeeze anything out of your spending to save a little you typically follow the practice of cutting a fixed percentage out of your budget. You know the drill. Want to save 10%. Cut 10%.
That 10% 'across the board cut' to the budget sweeps away all in its path including the 10% you actually spend toward your greater purpose and lifestyle dreams. Why reduce what gives your life some of its meaningful moments?
#3. What gives your life meaning and satisfaction (as opposed to celebrity status and beating your neighbor) demands a focus on spending on those things and activities that actually make a long term contribution toward a lifestyle you can sustain. Of course, I assume this is the one of your dreams.
Why? It is only when you see yourself making progress toward your goals that saving can be practiced with any discipline. Saving is tough to sustain when your lifestyle sucks.
The solution; make SPENDING ON PURPOSE your goal. Then, sooner than you think, saving will not only be natural but a habit that will also give you pleasure and lasting satisfaction.
Copyright 2009 William M. MacKay
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