Quick Decisions

By Craig Floyd

It is interesting to study habits of people who are wealthy in terms of money.  Specifically millionaires have certain traits that probably help them with the way they approach their finance life.  One such trait is that they are not impulse buyers.  They seem to be able to hold back on quick decisions and instant gratification.  After spending a day with a few car salesmen recently, I realized that I am probably not the best at delaying purchases.  I tend to want to buy the item I am looking for quickly if it is the one I want now.  Luckily I have a partner in my life that helps me to see that a quick purchase is not the right answer if I am being frugal.  It is better to sleep on the idea and get away from the purchase before I make a final decision.  This does not apply to small purchases but it really should.  Maybe I would do better financially if I delayed my want or need and thought about it longer.  A study done in 1960 by Stanford professor Dr. Mischel gained some information about this impulsive nature.  He gave preschoolers the choice to have one marshmallow when they desired without stipulation or they could wait until an adult came into the room.  If the child could wait until the adult came then he or she would receive two marshmallows. Over the years these children were continued to be followed and the ones that waited to receive the two marshmallows in the original study were also children who later found to have lower divorce rates, higher SAT scores, lower rates of addiction and lower BMI scores.  Is there a connection between our impulse nature and how we manage our lives? I think there is and whether it be marshmallows or cars it would appear that managing our impulsive natures by thinking longer, studying the material or purchase and making a decision about our finances we would be better in the long term to curb our quick decisions.