Bi-Weekly Newsletter


January 15, 2017

Doodads Project

One of the games that is played at Peak Potentials' seminars is when all students identify themselves with one of four groups, depending on their attitude towards money. There are Hoarders, Spenders, Avoiders, and Monks.

I always found it difficult to choose between my hoarder and my spender personality.

One of my favorite sayings back from Russia is, "It's not about spending less, it's about making more." I strongly believe that you can't save your way into prosperity. I love cool toys and fun activities—and I like the idea of being able to afford them. On the other hand, I hate it when the amount of money on my accounts goes down.

This used to lead to a vicious circle. When there wasn't enough money to spend on a toy, or as Robert Kiyosaki calls them, a doodad, I felt guilty that I'm not making enough. When I indulged myself and spent the money on a toy, I felt guilty because there could be other, more important things that could have been purchased with this money. 

And early this month, I invented a solution. 

I call it a Doodads Project.

It's very simple. 

But it works.

For every dollar that I spend on a doodad, I must come up with 3 more dollars to pay off some of the remaining debt that I got myself into when I started the company.

This accomplishes many things at once.

First of all, it makes me be more intentional about the doodads I choose to buy. Is it worth 4x? If not, I don't buy it. If yes, I tend to value it even more.

Second, because I still like doodads, it forces me to pay of the debt sooner. 

Third, celebration replaces guilt. In a way, a doodad is a reward for paying off the debt AND a lower debt is the consequence of making a decision to get a doodad.

If you have been feeling guilty of spending money on something while you knew that you should have been spending your money on something more important, thy my approach. For every dollar that you spend on something you really want, allocate 3 extra dollars to go towards something you think you should be spending on. 

You will kill a whole flock of birds with one stone!