Gosh, this is a hard one for me. I have to admit I find this one of the most difficult to take on board.

How am I to learn this one? Any tips?

I know I should:

• budget for today and only for today – if I don’t have it, I don’t spend it
• ignore what I think or know is coming in, in the future
• put loads aside for tax – no, even more than that
• have no loans, overdrafts, no borrowings of any sort so I won’t be tempted to use future income to pay off debts run up today – or the reverse, run up debts today knowing that income from the future can be used to pay them off (very naughty).

The downside of spending future income is:

• the income may not materialize or be less than you thought (counting chickens that never hatch...)
• the bubble has to burst somewhere and if you are always spending in advance you will get caught out one day
• it encourages sloppy financial planning
• whatever you bought will have long lost its appeal or wear out, get broken or even completely forgotten
• you lose touch with reality – the future isn’t real until it becomes today – and as such you can overspend only too easily.

I guess I need a four-point plan:

1. Question whether I need a particular thing today or could wait until later to buy it – a useful ploy as once the ‘blood lust’ has worn off the appeal often wears off too.
2. Question whether it is worth it. Obviously, if buying today against tomorrow’s income, I will incur interest – so is it worth the extra?
3. Question the risk factor. If I commit myself today, what if my circumstances change and I need that future income for other purposes?
4. Question that if I spend today I might not have income for a really exciting spend that might come up – better to keep it just in case.

Follow this plan with me and it should reduce our credit card balances considerably.