BE A WISE REAL ESTATE INVESTOR
Home » Financial Literacy » Instant gratification versus delayed gratification

Leave a Comment

28 thoughts on “Instant gratification versus delayed gratification”

  1. If only I discovered your website much earlier I wouldnt be tied up paying 3 cars but now I can start all over again and be more focus. Thanks I am one of your many followers.

    Reply
  2. Hi Jay, there was this argument between instant and delayed gratification. One of my friends who favors instant gratification said: “Live life to the fullest because you won’t know when will you die.” On the other hand, delayed gratification dictates one of my favorite mottos in life: “I will do today what other people won’t so that I can have tomorrow what other people can’t.”

    There is a battle between the present and the future, between the known and the unknown.

    Personally, I loosen up a bit in terms of frugality but having been known as the blogger behind the personal finance and investments blog “Millionaire Acts”, I still know how to determine between “enough” and “too much”, between “neccesity” and “luxury”. 🙂

    Reply
    • Hi Tyrone, thanks for the insights! Yes, it’s a balancing act.

      It’s perfectly okay to live life to the fullest, but I believe recklessly spending most of one’s money in the guise of “living life to the fullest” is foolish. It’s common to hear those that are for instant gratification say that we never know when we will die.

      On the other hand, what if we end up living to be a hundred years old and yet lived most of it in dire need of money? I suppose it really is a balancing act where we still need to reward ourselves without spending all our money and sabotaging ourselves.

      Anyway, we can still live life to the fullest, even if we hold back a bit and buy assets first and strive to win the money game.

      I like your motto, it’s very similar to what Wade Cook said: “If you will do what people won’t do for the next few years, then you can do what most people can’t do for the rest of your life.”

      Thanks again and cheers!

      Reply
  3. Hi Jay,

    I sure haven’t taken life from this perspective and it feels good to have come from someone like you. So before, I thought that delayed gratification only meant stopping yourself from buying things but instead I felt like I was being cheap. So I really agree with you that we can buy and reward ourselves small first and go for the bigger rewards once we truly can. Thanks!

    Reply
  4. You are most welcome Master! And thank you as well for the auction schedules and advices.

    I thought time has really come to have one.

    Magiging “anim” na kami e. 🙂

    Reply
    • Thanks for dropping by bro! You’re a perfect example for delayed gratification. Bought a lot of assets and a business before getting your car, idol! I saw a white Ford Fiesta the other day, was that you… hehe! Cheers bro!

      Reply
  5. It was 2008 when I first know Jay.
    He even offered me a ride from that auction in Manila to Kamias Q.C

    If you’re inside the car, you won’t even know its a Hyundai Getz… felt it was a Honda Jazz 🙂

    More Power Jay!

    Reply
  6. Hi Jay, this article is informative and inspiring. I have always believed in delay gratification rather than instant gratification because as i have observed here in my work place most of the guys here were buying everything that comes in mind hahaha. I’m proud to say that I have not the slightest desire to obtain for the moment things to take away cash from my pocket. I have already acquired still one asset here in novaliches but i’m planning to mortgage this to use in acquiring more. It’s a one door apartment which i bought for 500 k from my mom’s friend, i dont actually know if I bought it high. I’m very new with this kind of investment. i want to know the market value for this so incase i decided to mortgage this and use the lump sum to take new opportunities. how can i know this? Thanks!

    Reply
  7. It’s always refreshing to read your blogs Jay.

    There are countless others blinded by instant gratification and blaming it on ‘low salary’. I guess most people don’t consider investing in debt assets and work on liability debts first. I hope this inspires others to save and INVEST in the right money vehicles.

    Thanks for sharing your insights on why you’re where you are — and the others just want Jollibee. 🙂

    Keep it up Jay and God bless.

    We have properties below market value with 10-15% ROI
    Visit: http://www.dynamicrealtyphilippines.blogspot.com
    We’ll help you find solutions to your property needs!

    Reply
  8. Good one. A few months ago, I was thinking about getting a big house from my mom as a dowry for settlement next year. But after searching for a property for a few months, I started thinking about the idea again. Should I get a liability first and live in a bigger house after newly married or should I take the capital for business and investment instead? That seems like a simple decision after I think about the Rich dad books I have read. I should not be confused by the traditional idea that settle down with a big house and stable career. Business and investments which will help me to get out of rat race should have the priority above all.. Looking forward to learn more stuffs from you. Thanks. 🙂

    Reply
  9. Hi Jay,

    I prefer delayed gratification over instant gratification like you bro!

    The temptation of people like us who want delayed gratification is when we look at the ‘things’ that our relatives, friends or officemates have and how we wish we could buy it right now, too since we have the funds. It would help if we use God’s Word to protect ourselves from buying liabilities just because we want what others have… God says “Thou shall not covet thy neighbors’ good.”

    I see a lot of people also who have better cars and bigger houses than I but I also wonder how much harder they need to work for these, taking a lot of time from the wife or husband and their children. It’s really sad when I see people who spend only the last one to two hours of every week day with the spouse and kids because they have to go to work early. They can’t even spend an hour in the morning with their spouse and kids because all of them have to rush to work (I’m happy for those parents who serve as their children’s driver to school).”)

    Bro, I commend you for being a very good cash flow manager.:)

    God bless!

    Bryan Uy

    Reply
    • Thanks a lot Bryan. It’s like you described the practice of “Keeping up with the Jones’s” which really traps people in the rat race. Thanks for dropping by!

      Reply
  10. Thank you for this post Sir Jay. I’m at a crossroad today, should I buy a car already or save it to buy an asset (real estate, start up business). But I’m weighing the benefits of having a means of transportation at my whim to look and find good deals immediately (in your case, it already happened).

    Thank you for this article and I’ll continue to weigh my options. More power Sir Jay!

    In all things, persevere,

    Anthony Verrick Dones

    Reply
    • Hi Anthony, my advice is if the benefit of having a car far outweighs the cost, then go for it. Although a car is a liability, there is nothing wrong with buying it if you really need it, and it becomes a necessity.

      By the way, when I bought my car, the actual cost I had to pay on a monthly basis was the monthly amortization of Php5500(half was subsidized by the company as part of the car plan) plus the average monthly cost for diesel at Php2000 plus the average monthly cost for maintenance at Php2000 for a total of Php9,500, which I was able to recoup with my real estate investing activities which is definitely easier to do with a car. Having a car also helped me save time, and also provided safe and reliable transportation for me and my family(take note that my son was only 3 years old back then) and that for me made it worth it! 🙂

      If I didn’t buy a new car or bought a more expensive car, my average monthly car related expenses would have been around Php15K/month.

      Just like real estate investing, decide using the numbers. Good luck!

      Reply
Share

Did you miss buying a foreclosed property because it was too late when you saw the listing/ auction schedule?

Here's the solution...

DON'T BE THE LAST TO KNOW!

GET UPDATES FOR FORECLOSED PROPERTIES VIA EMAIL

Join over 100,000 smart real estate investors who receive

updated foreclosed property listings, auction schedules,

and real estate investing tips via email, it's free!

No thanks / Already subscribed
x
We take privacy seriously and we'll never spam you.
Please refer to our Privacy Policy

X
I'm looking for foreclosed properties in...


Looking for an article?
Click here to search the blog
Share