October 2009
Provided by Brian Marling, Accredited Mortgage Professional, Neighbourhood Dominion Lending Centres, Cobourg 905.372.7222
“Are we moral cowards or mathematical illiterates? Shouldn’t we accept delayed gratification as a virtue and not a punishment? Using bad debt to take the waiting out of wanting eventually leaves you wanting.” – Jon Hanson
“The lovely toy so fiercely sought hath lost its charm by being caught” – Lord Byron
By the time you read this article we will have already digested the piles of mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing and all the other wonderful additions that make up our Thanksgiving celebrations. And as much as I personally love this time of year I want to ask you if you took the time to reflect on all the blessings in your life and the numerous people & things you have to be thankful for? The reason this is such a critical exercise for all of us (and not just at ‘Thanksgiving’), is because for the rest of the 364 days of the year we are bombarded with the message thousands of times daily that “we can have it all now”!
What does this message really produce? As our culture has bought into it the result is an entire nation that has embraced a “consumer entitlement mentality”. Why wait until you can actually afford it when you can have it all now. Sounds good until you wake up one day & realize the prison you have created for yourself. Not to mention the fact that you have likely ransomed your future. The progression goes something like this…from awe, to I’d like to have that, to I must have that, and finally to I am entitled to that! Where entitlements are perceived, neither common sense nor actual need is considered.
I guess the problem with delayed gratification is that it isn’t a very exciting or sexy notion. As a political platform the promotion would go something like this – Delayed Gratification; spend less than you make; provide for your own future; put back more than you take; continue your own self-education; maintain personal responsibility and self-government. But what is the alternative…get it all now; spend more than you make; rely on government and company benefits for your future; take more than you put back; do not maintain personal responsibility for anything. Hmmm, maybe our parents and grandparents were right after all when they said things like, “If you don’t have the cash to pay for it then you can’t afford it”.
Isn’t this where the concept of Thanksgiving comes in? Shouldn’t our focus be on our daily blessings and the things we do have, as opposed to always wanting more. If we fall into the entitlement trap when is enough ever enough? And before we start feeling too sorry for ourselves economist Thomas Sowell points out, “Most Americans (I think Canadians too) living below the official poverty line have air-conditioning, microwaves and VCRs. About half have a car or truck.”.
Where I see this in my business is when clients who could otherwise afford to purchase their own home are restricted from doing so because they have made poor financial decisions in the past. Most of those decisions involve the purchasing of STUFF that could have been delayed if only they understood the consequences. A young couple in my office recently, who understand delayed gratification, were commenting with wonderment at why anyone would spend $X per week for a television they are renting when they could simply save the same amount of money for a few months and pay cash and own it. I think they get it!
“We derail the very success we seek when we step off the path to pretend that we have arrived. The inability of the Consumerati (pretenders) to delay gratification keeps the cash drawers of our merchants overflowing. The very essence of delayed gratification is to stay the course until we meet with success uncommon to those who cannot delay their desires.” – Jon Hanson
At Neighbourhood we care more about you than we do about the ‘deal’. That is why our clients have come to trust us and recommend us to family and friends. That is also why the people of this great community have made us the Readers Choice Award Winners on more than one occasion. Our mission is to continue to earn your trust as we continue to care.
I am thankful to Jon Hanson author of ‘Good Debt, Bad Debt” for some of the inspiration behind this article.