72 hours. Just 3 days. Press pause and hear me out.

Hi there! I'm Charlotte, and today I want to talk about how taking a few days before making purchases can help you develop better money habits.

I was not sure if I wanted to purchase something, so I decided do an experiment. For 72 hours, I committed myself to not making any purchases at all. The next day, I didn't want the item anymore. I changed my mind and realized that there were other things more important to me than this particular thing—and it really helped develop a healthier mindset for me.

I've learned that it's okay to change my mind about something or decide not to purchase something. Because not every purchase you make will be perfect for you, it's important to take time before making any purchases so that you can fully consider what the consequences might be.

Let me tell you what happened: I was looking at some new shoes online, and they were SO cute! But they were also really expensive and I wasn't sure if they were worth the money. So instead of clicking "buy," I decided to wait 72 hours before deciding whether or not to make the purchase.

So during those three days, here's what happened: first off, when I thought about it more rationally, I realized that there were other things in my life that were more important than buying new shoes. Like spending time with family, paying bills and taxes on time, and saving up for retirement—things like that are more important than new shoes! And so then by week's end, when I still hadn't bought them yet? No big deal because by then my mind had come around to thinking about how much more important other things were than new shoes anyway! And so then when 72 hours rolled around… well… I realised that my current pairs of shoes are still very much in mint condition and I have absolutely no need for yet another pair!

So here's the thing: by waiting 72 hours before making any decisions about purchases that you're unsure about, you'll build up this kind of awareness around your own motivations and desires that will help you make better decisions in the future.

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