Happy new month! I would like to start with this story as I continue the series on financial freedom. A few months ago, when I celebrated my birthday, my wife succeeded in taking me out for shoe shopping after much frustration from my end. She had asked several times what I wanted for my birthday, and I didn’t give her a clear answer each time. Eventually, we watched a movie titled Air on Prime, and she realized I liked the story and creativity behind a type of Nike shoe designed for and named after a famous basketball player—Michael Jordan. Therefore, she decided to buy me Air Jordans. But for me, after seeing the price and doing some calculations in my brain, I knew that wasn’t a good shoe at the moment. In short, I wasn’t ready to start paying for big brand names such as Nike. Besides, it’s not a gift from an outsider, and I knew the money would be going out of our pocket. Do you know what I did in the end? I simply went for another brand of shoe; the quality is also great but not a Nike.
Now, what I displayed there is a form of delayed gratification. And no matter how small that decision was, it has implications. Let’s look together into the implications of controlling your expenditure by means of delayed gratification.
1. Ability to Save More
It is difficult to have savings in Western countries. If you are not careful, you will spend all you earn on many attractive things. But what can allow you to save is discipline informed by a sense of delaying any form of immediate gratification. The ability to save from the little one is getting is the starting point of financial freedom. It is very possible for a janitor to have better savings than a top professional like a medical doctor if the latter is not prudent in spending. To be financially free, one important prerequisite is the discipline to save and then use the money later in getting assets that can appreciate in the short or long term or fund a startup. One of the most successful Nigerian men of our time, Tony Elumelu, in a speech called this capital formation.
2. Missing out on Things
There are many things I missed out on when I was younger as a teen because my parents were not rich enough to buy them for me. In fact, those things could not even be suggested to them then because they were still trying to raise money for my tuition. Now, I have money to buy many of those things I would have wanted then, but that stage of life has passed. My pursuits and dreams are for better and higher things. My point is that in the process of denying ourselves certain pleasures at the moment, we may miss out on some immediate opportunities in the end. In other words, it is not good to deny yourself many things at the moment, particularly things that might not be useful or available anymore when you are supposedly prepared.
Conclusion
I think most of us postpone certain pleasures or luxuries because there is this sense that we are not yet among the top 5% of millionaires. So, we go for economy instead of first class when we are flying. We go for a fueled car instead of an electric vehicle like Tesla. We go for a relatively affordable phone, instead of an iPhone, Samsung, or other quality phones out there. In the end, the most important thing is that we should always try to ask if the delayed gratification is worth it.
Thank you for reading. I am Samuel Ayankoso, The Quester.
Quotes
“Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.“ Napoleon Hill
“Dreams do come true, if we only wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it.” James M. Barrie
“Life is a song—sing it. Life is a game—play it. Life is a challenge—meet it. Life is a dream—realize it. Life is a sacrifice—offer it. Life is love—enjoy it.” Sai Baba
“Great achievement always requires great sacrifice.” Robin S. Sharma
