Balancing instant gratification and delayed gratification when I’m still forming my money habits

To follow up on my earlier post about personal finance, I want to write about instant and delayed gratification. And to do so, I'll share a recent experience of mine. Just a caveat: I am no expert in psychology.

I’m new to working. And I mean I recently had my first job and first payday. I tried preparing myself for the moment money flowed into my bank account by reading a couple of books and blogs. But when I saw the deposit notification from my bank, I had the strongest urge to buy a video game, Mario + Rabbids.

I had to think long and hard if buying a video game was a sound idea. I had to consider my other needs, wants, and priorities. After confirming that it was safe to buy, I purchased the video game — and had a blast playing it -- and can confidently say that it was a good decision.

I consider my video game purchase as a form of instant gratification. Instant gratification is a reward you can get immediately. On the other hand, delayed gratification is opting for rewards in the far future. Kinda like when a kid saves his/her allowance for a comic book or magazine. The difference is I'm an adult.

While I did spend money for instant gratification, I still had set aside money for savings and investments. Investing is a method to achieve delayed gratification involving my long-term plans: living in a foreign country, buying land, and other stuff. 

It is a struggle to see all the shiny new stuff come and go without buying them because shopping can get addicting. I already have my eyes set on some new video games and comics, and I am fighting every urge in my body not to fall into temptation. I know that if I spend my money now, then there will not be any money left tomorrow.

To realign myself with my goals, I sit down and read my journal in which I had written my long-term plans. I knew that to achieve the things that I want in life, I have to save money and stop myself from buying everything I want as soon as I get money. Waiting is the game and patience is the key to winning.

At the end of the day, I believe that people deserve to be happy now and in the future. And happiness can, and most of the time, be secured by the individual’s own hands. Yes, I can buy that fancy gadget, but I also have my future in mind. Hopefully, balancing the two kinds of gratification gets easier after some time.