At first blush this headline may very well seem to be completely ridiculous … and if taken in the wrong context it is. However, like many things in life, if looked at from another angle, it becomes a perfectly logical and ingenious way to financial health and happiness.
This first person I know who advocated this idea was Foster Hibbard in his The Millionaire’s Seminar.
Foster Hibbard suggested we should stop ALL SPENDING. That’s right, you should never spend another cent for the rest of your life.
Spending, and its implication is that you have ended up with the short-end of the stick. When someone is spent, what does that imply? It’s a way of saying they are depleted of energy. They are empty. Words and their associated meanings are all powerful. We think with words. Spending implies that we have depleted our currency whether that be energy or money. It suggests we have less than before.
If you just spent twenty dollars then you consciously or subconsciously think that you have twenty dollars less. Let’s suppose we turn those thoughts upside down and consider that we didn’t spend twenty dollars but rather, we exchanged twenty dollars for something of greater value. Think about it, when you’re about to purchase something for twenty dollars you have the choice of either keeping the money or exchanging it for something that you deem to be of greater value. If you didn’t think your pending purchase was worth more than the twenty dollars, you would keep the money in your wallet … and this is key … unless you simply didn’t bother to think about it – and most of us don’t!
Please don’t dismiss this as nonsense. This simple process can have a profound affect on your most fundamental thoughts about money, and the result of this thinking can lead to easily achieving your financial abundance.
When you make a purchase, any purchase at all, you are always (theoretically at least) exchanging your money for something that you desire more than the money. Therefore, you are actually coming out ahead on every purchasing transaction. You’re exchanging something of lesser value for something of greater value. Therefore, every purchase you make is a shrewd move on your part because you are always getting more than you’re giving. Because of this, it stands to reason that with each purchase you make you’re actually becoming more and more affluent … at least in thought, and richness of life … if not in actual hard financial terms.
But here is another key … money is meant to be enjoyed, it should be your servant and not the other way around.
Take a moment and really consider the above. Are your purchases really bringing you more than you’re giving up? Are you making shrewd investment moves? Please note that a shrewd investment doesn’t mean the other party has to get the short-end of the stick. It merely means that you clearly value your purchase more than you valued the money you needed to buy it. Ideally the seller values your money more than he does the service given or the item he sold.
Are the purchases you made worth more to you than the cost, or possibly the stress, the sleepless nights and worry? If it is, then you’ve made the right decision.
If by some chance you’re looking around at your possessions in a slightly less favorable light than you did when you purchased them, then maybe NOW is a good time to dig in your heels and make plans to turn your spending habits and your financial ship around.
Now is the time to eliminate all spending. Make a promise that you will never spend another dime. From now on you will only invest. You will gladly, wisely and with great awareness exchange your money for products or services of greater value.
With this thought firmly entrenched in your conscious clarity, it will be all but impossible to buy some silly, impulsive item. With this thought you will instantly eliminate all wasteful spending.
Try this for just one week and you will be amazed at how this simple change in view from spending to investing will immediately change your entire financial future.
