Saving Money and Accumulating Wealth:
Delayed Gratification

Being able to delay gratification is a skill that must be acquired on your road to wealth.   If you never acquire this skill then you will never be able to acquire true wealth.  It is integral because to have wealth our resources must exceed our needs.  And without control our desires our needs will exceed our resources. 

Most of us learn this skill early in life when our parents force us to learn it.  However, some are not so fortunate to have a parent who teaches them this and instead they learn to indulge themselves whenever they want.  This trait follows them throughout life unfortunately.  Many must later in their life deal with addiction problems.   Addiction problems are usually are result of an inability to delay gratification.  Over-eaters are another class of people who have problems in this area.  However, sometimes they only have the problem in one area -- such as eating -- and do not have it in another area -- as in financial management.

Delaying gratification can be learned later in life.  The way to do it is to build into your life a series of rewards for accomplishment.  When you complete something that needs to be done, reward yourself.  By creating rewards you are ensuring that you are forced to delay gratification until after the task is complete and not before.   If you can do this in many areas of your life you will eventually be able to delay gratification.  This skill will be invaluable on your road to wealth. 

You can find problems with delaying gratification in your life by examining your eating and spending habits.  If you have trouble in either of these areas or if you have a number of vices such as drinking, drugs or cigarettes then it is likely you have a problem with delaying gratification.  Begin rearranging your life by breaking your habit in the physical areas first.  Break the vices you have or limit yourself to indulge in a certain amount each day and then stick to that amount.  If you can force yourself to do this then you will be acquiring the skill of delayed gratification.

You need to examine your life for problems in delaying gratification.  If you find that you do indeed have trouble saving money or paying bills on time or building a nest egg then more than like you do have problems in this area.  In order to break this habit you need to somehow build in rewards and punishments for yourself so there is a price to pay for indulging yourself and a reward for staving off temptation.   Try rewarding yourself for accomplishing milestones in your savings account or in paying off your bills.  This will help you to feel better about the changes you are making and enjoy some rewards for learning a new habit.

Delaying gratification may be one of the biggest factors for creating wealth.  Many studies have shows that those who accumulate wealth tend to be more frugal and live less opulent lifestyles than their peers even though they can afford it.  Therefore, delaying gratification is something integral to financial success and a habit everyone should try to incorporate in their lives.

Information is for educational and informational purposes only and is not be interpreted as financial or legal advice. This does not represent a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Please consult your financial advisor.