Green bananas are an interesting development in our lives.
We accept that buying green bananas is normal. We know that if we buy 5-6 green bananas today that we’ll have those for the rest of the week as we wait for them to ripen.
I would argue that spending money, for business or for pleasure, is almost always better if you spend on everything the way you spend on green bananas.
There is rarely something good that is also urgent.
Yes, if your arm is bleeding profusely, go and get stitches immediately. And also pay for it to be done well. You need to live to make it to tomorrow.
But how often do we need stitches in our lifetimes?
The world around us is all about the now. Certainly in some good ways, but also in a lot of negative ways. We’re encouraged to spend our money now. It’s not really any of the business’s fault for doing it. We’re the ones that buy things right now like we’re going to die in the morning.
We buy food to eat now. We buy things on Amazon that we think we need right away or because we want it now. We do the same for our businesses. We buy software today because it seems to solve a problem right away.
I’ve read a lot of books about successful entrepreneurs. And even just successful (and also happy) people in general. One of the common themes, at least in terms of the success and happiness, is buying things with a focus on the future.
Putting aside short-term enjoyment for more enjoyment later on. Not guaranteed, but just a general focus on the future.
Green bananas pay off relatively quickly. Just a few days and we can enjoy them.
Putting off purchases that will be better in a few days is a good way to buy. Focusing even longer into the future is an even better way to focus. You’ll spend less money and likely make your money work for you so that you have more of it in the future.