Practice Delayed Gratification To Achieve Financial Success

Flickr/Jimmy Harris

When you're walking past a store window and something catches your eye, do you stop and buy it? Or do you wait a few days and think about it before making the purchase?

How you answer that question could have strong implications for your financial future, according to personal finance blogger Lance Cothern.

On his blog Money Manifesto, Cothern says that when it comes to impulse buying, most Americans are pretty bad at practicing self control: "Have you seen the way people have been acting the last few years? They see something they want, and they have to have it immediately."

It should come as no surprise, then, that as of this January the average U.S. household owed $7,123 on credit cards, according to the Federal Reserve. Americans treat consumer debt - using dollars earned in the future to pay for current expenses - as a normal budgetary practice rather than as a last resort.

Cothern argues that the crux of the issue is people's inability to wait. He writes:

Those looking to practice more patience could try one of Cothern's strategies to nix impulse buying:

• Write down your money goals, and hold yourself accountable.
• Before every purchase, consider if the item is something you need or something you want. If the latter, wait 24 hours to purchase it.
• Ask someone older than you about their biggest money regrets, so you can avoid them.