Today vs Tomorrow

"Why do today, what you can put off  until tomorrow" was a humorous phrase that was meant to teach us to avoid procrastination. Generally it is good advice to 'do it now', except that economically speaking, this has got us into the financial struggle that we are now facing as a world economy. Let me explain.

The last generation or two has been of the mind that it is better that we have what we want and that we have it sooner than later. I was taught a valuable principle called 'delayed gratification'. Save up for what it is that you want, enjoy the anticipation of waiting to get it, and then take pleasure in knowing that you earned it and now it is yours, clear. That concept has been lost in the last 40 years. We want it, and we want it now, and if we cannot afford it, we will get it on credit. And, we will get the most, the biggest, and the best, as much as our credit limit will allow. (The 'pre-approved mortgage' is a good example as it encourages home buyers to buy the most house the bank will let them)

What happens then, is that the purchases of tomorrow are transacted today. Then what of the purchases of tomorrow? There are none. The incentives to buy new vehicles just after the economic downturn showed how true this was. Vehicle sales sky rocketed, but in the next few years there were no more sales. Nobody could figure it out. Today, there are many people who have learned a valuable lesson. More money is going into savings now than ever before, and people are paying off debt, and trying to recover their retirement nest eggs. Not much money left for consuming stuff and that is why the economy is down. Too much buying on credit yesterday and leaving no sales for today. 

There is huge merit in saving up, considering what it is that one can actually afford, (living within one's means) and only making a purchase when the money is in the bank. It is less stressful, less expensive, and it helps to avoid the problems we are seeing in the developed nations of the world today.

Consumers and governments should realise that sometimes a little procrastination is a good thing.