Money Listens

This is the last post about elephants. Probably. I’ve been writing about Dave Ramsey’s tips for saving money on big purchases. You get to decide what’s “big.” In my mind, big is anything over $100.00. For you it might be more or less than that. In case you’ve forgotten, here they are:

1. Wait before making a purchase.
2. Consider your motive for buying.
3. Never buy anything you do not understand.
4. Consider the opportunity cost of your money.
5. Seek counsel before buying.

Today we finish up the list with number 5: seek counsel. If you’re married, this is very, very, very important. Ask your wife/hubby for an opinion. This list isn’t in a particular order. Asking your spouse might be the first or second thing you do. If you’re not married, and respect your parents’ opinion, you might seek their counsel. Maybe they never told you they had an elephant once, and it turned out to be a disaster. Or, if you’re older, and you did a good job raising level-headed children who are now grown, ask for their opinion. But be ready for the mid-life crisis lecture. “What! At your age! Why in the world do you want an elephant? Don’t you know how dangerous they are.”

Your wife/husband’s is the opinion that really matters, because they have to live with your purchase, too. “Honey, we just put in all that landscaping. And did you forget the kids are allergic to peanuts?” If your spouse wants to put on the brakes– slow down. If you ask for their opinion, be willing to listen and hear them out. Hopefully, what you’ll hear is, “That’s a great idea, I’ve always wanted an elephant. How about we get two?”

This entry (Permalink) was posted on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 at 4:00 am and is filed under Communication, Dave Says, Spending Less and Less. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response , or trackback from your own site.