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How to make financially delaying gratification easier
You know that saving money should be much better than splurging on purchases. But it can be hard not to splurge at times.
What if I could make it easier for you?
There’s a mental trick that you can use to help you with this, coming from the FIRE movement.
And it revolves around the number 25.
Why is delayed gratification good?
One of the most influential studies around willpower was the famous Marshmellow experiment. Kids were offered either one marshmallow now, or 2 after waiting for 15 minutes.
The ability for some kids to delay gratification for the bigger reward led to the kids being more dependable, self-motivated, psychologically well-adjusted and scoring better in grades. This characteristic was later shown to carry over in their adult life as well.
However, the delayed gratification model changed in the mid-1990s, when it was discovered that willpower is a resource that can be depleted. After all, if this was a skill that could be learned as a kid, you wouldn’t have days as an adult where delayed gratification is hard.
