Kicking the 30 Day Spending Rule Up a Notch



I’m not much of a rules kinda guy, but the 30 day spending rule is one I really like. The rule is pretty simple – wait 30 days every time you want to make a purchase. Go buy the item if you still think it’s worth the cost after a month, but chances are good your desire to spend faded by then.

In recent memory, I have, at one point or another, wanted to buy the following:

New Pair of Jeans

A New iPhone

Golf Clubs (2 Wedges To Be Exact)

Laptop

Study Course That’s More Hype than Anything Else

Luckily, none of these “toys” passed the 30-day test. Otherwise, I would have racked up even more debt and be busy regretting my decisions instead of speaking with you.

Adding Some Spice to the Waiting Rule

Okay, that wasn’t crazy interesting. So many of us already know this rule. We either use it already, or we’ve decided that it’s not worth the effort. Either way, we don’t need to read this rule again.



In order to add a twist to the rule, how about paying someone else the amount when you want to buy a product? What would happen if I paid my wife $1,000 (or whatever the laptop cost) if I wanted to buy it? After 30 days, if I still want it, my wife and I can go buy it. If 30 days go by and I decide it’s not necessary anymore, my wife can give me back the money.

A little complicated and cumbersome? That’s the point. It’s probably a good thing for spending to be difficult since it will slow down that itchiness to buy buy buy. Other advantages include:

You Must Have the Means – Unless the person you send the money to owns a credit card processing company, chances are great she doesn’t want to accept your visa card. If you want to buy something, you better already have the funds.

– Unless the person you send the money to owns a credit card processing company, chances are great she doesn’t want to accept your visa card. If you want to buy something, you better already have the funds. You Feel the Lost – For 30 days, you are missing that chunk of cash and you can get a sense of how it feels emotionally without that amount of money. While it’s never the same as permanently losing that chunk of change, at least it’s better than just buying with your credit card and not really knowing how much the purchase stings until your bill arrives.

– For 30 days, you are missing that chunk of cash and you can get a sense of how it feels emotionally without that amount of money. While it’s never the same as permanently losing that chunk of change, at least it’s better than just buying with your credit card and not really knowing how much the purchase stings until your bill arrives. You Get a Reward – If you don’t end up buying the product, you get money. It can almost pass as a reward for not buying something.

This idea just came to me so I can’t say I’ve thought through the pros and cons. Am I a genius or is it going to be a big waste of time? Would you try it? Let us know!

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