Of all the "secrets" to success, the one I believe is hardest to realize (because life is short, and temptation is strong) is the discipline of delayed gratification. Saving for the future is tough, esp. when I want that motorcycle now, while I'm still young enough to ride one, for example. Like in your previous essay, hard choices yield the best results, and buying "less than you can afford" is essential. When I bought a house in 2004, I am so glad I ignored my friendly banker's advice that "you can afford to buy a home with a loan 25 percent more than you're asking for;" then four years later when the housing bubble burst I was really glad that I could afford to refinance because I had some "new money" left to get me to the 20 percent equity they were then requiring... Thanks for writing this, John, I hope some young people are absorbing this information.
Of all the "secrets" to success, the one I believe is hardest to realize (because life is short, and temptation is strong) is the discipline of delayed gratification. Saving for the future is tough, esp. when I want that motorcycle now, while I'm still young enough to ride one, for example. Like in your previous essay, hard choices yield the best results, and buying "less than you can afford" is essential. When I bought a house in 2004, I am so glad I ignored my friendly banker's advice that "you can afford to buy a home with a loan 25 percent more than you're asking for;" then four years later when the housing bubble burst I was really glad that I could afford to refinance because I had some "new money" left to get me to the 20 percent equity they were then requiring... Thanks for writing this, John, I hope some young people are absorbing this information.