Adventures in Debt

I’ve been tagged by Paid Twice to participate in Moolanomy’s meme, so here goes!

The question: If you can give one advice, tip, or story related to money, what would you share?

I think the easiest and best piece of advice I could give people relating to money is this: Have Patience.

Whether it’s paying down debt, or saving up money, having patience comes in handy. Nothing happens overnight, so patience will help you deal with the waiting around. For example:

• if you’re in the middle of paying off your debts, then it will help keep you on track and be diligent about making payments. You’ll feel more satisfied if you’re aware that it’ll take more than two weeks to pay off $10,000.
• if you’re trying to save up some money for a family vacation or new television, for example, patience will help you enjoy watching your money grow with each month, as the wonders of compound interest do their magic.

I know I’m not one for exercising much patience with things in my life, however when it comes to my finances, I am willing to wait things out. I’ve waited to receive a bonus from my bank when I signed up for a new account (an iPod, something I wasn’t going to purchase myself). I’ve waited for my bank to send me new convenience cheques so I could take advantage of a low balance transfer. And I’ve waited for my savings to hit a magic number before buying a plane ticket. (okay, not on my last trip, but on the one before, that’s what I did.)

When your financial life is exerting lots of pressure on you and your family, it’s difficult to wait things out, as you’re probably thinking that you just want to get out. But take it from me, take a deep breath, and wait.

Okay, now time to tag some other people, let’s see: The Frugal Law Student,  and Indebted 2 You are now it.