I was chatting with Curtis today about finances and I was reminded that I never did write about a purchasing “hack” that I’ve been using for some time now.
Anytime I want to buy something “large” I need to find a way to create as asset that generates the income to buy it. In other words, I build an asset that then buys whatever it was that I wanted.
An example of this should make it clear. Last year I wanted to get an iPhone 4 and an iPad but I didn’t want to pay $800 for them. So after some brainstorming I created and sold my first ebook, Refactoring Redmine with the intention of raising enough money to buy the iGadgets for me.
The main points of this hack is:
- by building an asset I’m getting value from it even after the purchases are made. e.g. after I raise enough for the iGadgets I can still sell the book.
- going through the “build an asset” cycle delays the purchase long enough that you can make a more rational decision. e.g. once Refactoring Redmine made enough to buy the iGadgets I really didn’t want them any more by that point
- shifting from a consumer to a producer is an entirely different point of view on how business works. (Something I’ve been thinking about recently and need to flesh out a bit more…)
So let your creating fuel your purchasing.
That’s way better than my idea to let the wife have the CC and then have to ask her for it. I’ve always been someone that spends easy, the wife keeps us on track almost entirely. So maybe I need to give her the CC then only get to ask for it back once I’ve built a product.
Or she can give you a budget (e.g. $50/month) that you can increase only by selling a product (say 10% revenue goes to your budget “fund” for that month). We actually do something like this to limit our spending (another post for a later time)