Any financial mantras

[fairy74]

Just curious if anyone else has a little financial mantra--to keep them motivated or keep them from spending when it's not necessary? My current one is be concious, do I need this and if I need this is this the best price I can get it for?

This seems to help with impulse buys, anybody else have a little phrase to keep themselves in line

[Snoopy2645]

Re: Any financial mantras

Anymore when I look at stuff I think how many hours will I have to work to pay for that & could I really get it cheaper at a garage sale?? I did that yesterday I went downdown to my fav huge dept store its closing & having all kinds of sales I actually didnt buy anything!! I was so proud of myself.

[LuxLiving]

Re: Any financial mantras

Granny's still works for me, if I've got something and about to put it into a shopping cart, I'll ask myself...

"Trinket or Treasure?"

You can save yourself a bunch of mistakes this way. I can have lots more treasures if I take a pass on more of the trinkets.

Some others are:

"Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without".

"I am rich in proportion to what I can do without."

[scfr]

Re: Any financial mantras

People first, then money, then things. (Suze Orman)

[ChimbleySweep]

Re: Any financial mantras

"Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without".

That's my financial mantra! I try to live by the three Rs! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! That also works with my finances!

[Ariadne]

Re: Any financial mantras

"If you find a penny on the ground, still pick it up. You'll still be one penny richer than you were five minutes ago."

And after that...

"The best savings method is to do it penny by penny. Small steps = large results".

[humandraydel]

Re: Any financial mantras

Gotta agree with LuxLiving - this quote by Thoreau has always been one of my favorites:

"A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone." - Henry David Thoreau

There are a lot of great quotes from him. I'd suggest that everyone reads Walden if they haven't already.

[shengmei]

Re: Any financial mantras

My mantra is "Wait until I can get it 75% off"

[PRICEPLUS]

Re: Any financial mantras

Out of debt, out of danger.

Use it up, wear it out, make due, do without!

[Broken Arrow]

Re: Any financial mantras

Live below your means

[Bookie]

Re: Any financial mantras

Two come to mind:

"Saving is not spending. Spending less is simply spending less."

"Money saved is money banked."

[pearlieq]

Re: Any financial mantras

"Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without".

I think of this one a lot. I also try to ask myself "Will this increase my net worth" when making financial decisions.

Another one that really resonates with me is the story (and I'm paraphrasing here) about the fine man and the peasant. Basically a man dressed in fine clothes is on his way to the palace for a feast and passes a humble man eating a bowl of lentils. He tells the man "If you would learn to serve the king you would not have to eat lentils". The man replies "If you would learn to eat lentils you would not have to be subservient to the king".

That one means a lot to me because I do see money in terms of choice and freedom. The more I can do without the more freedom I have!

[tinapbeana]

Re: Any financial mantras

from an unknown t-shirt somewhere...

"don't worry about getting what you want. get what you need, and be glad you don't get what you deserve!"

[Hez]

Re: Any financial mantras

That's a good one, tinapbeana!

I don't have any clever mantras, I just ask myself "Do I really need this?"

[PRICEPLUS]

Re: Any financial mantras

"Do I really need this?", is the quintessential mantra in my opinion!