One of the best ways to have more money in your bank account is to avoid spending money. I am very bad with impulse purchases of items under $40. For some reason above that magic number, I can normally put off the purchase indefinitely. Under, and I am taking it home with me.

Because of Christmas, I was reminded of a few purchases that I want to make and have wanted to make for a while.

Here are three items that cost more than $40 and how I have used procrastination to my advantage.

Just wait until Christmas

I started watching Lost at the beginning of season two, quickly became addicted and stopped watching season two until I got around to watching season one. By that point, I was several weeks behind on season two and decided to wait until the DVD came out. The DVD was over the magic $40 price so I procrastinated. I eventually put it on my Christmas list this year and my sister bought it for me.

Money saved by procrastinating: $50 according to the sticker.

Just wait until…someday

Two Christmases ago, my wife bought me a Sirius receiver for my car. It is the kind that sits on the dashboard and has cords dangling everywhere. Once I fully committed to staying subscribed to Sirius, I decided that I would replace the stock radio that came with my car with one that could work with Sirius. Most of the ones that I want cost $150+, so it went on my Someday list. For Christmas, I received a $75 gift certificate from Best Buy. While there are a ton of things I would enjoy from Best Buy, there is nothing that I really, really need. I am thinking about using that gift certificate to pay for a portion of the new Sirius radio.

Money saved by procrastinating: $75 so far, maybe more if I wait until March and use some birthday money toward the purchase, too.

Just wait until the next model comes out

A few years back, I decided that I would really like a laptop. That is definitely over the magic $40 spot. So, it went on hold. I still have not bought myself a laptop. There were several times where I was bummed at needing to go down to the computer room instead of typing in front of the TV but it was never a huge issue for me. A few months back, work gave me a laptop to use. I can’t quite do anything that I want with it, but I can do most things that I need to. At this point, if I would have bought the laptop when I originally wanted it, I would probably be looking for another new one now.

Money saved by procrastinating: $1500.

Now, if I only new where all that money ended up, I’d be pretty happy.

 

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