There is an important aspect to any decision-making, the consideration of time. Do you spend more time thinking about what you are going to do today or 2-5 years from now? Do you spend anytime thinking about 25-50 years from now? Nearly every aspect of your life can be improved by moving your evaluations and decision-making more distant in time. For an obvious example, if you want to be healthy and active in your sixties and beyond, that depends a lot on how well you treat your body during your twenties through your fifties. Other categories of your life that improve with long-term thinking include: relationships, career, and money.
I recently heard that an acquaintance is getting evicted from his apartment. None of the usual reasons for this difficulty apply to him: job loss, illness, or too much debt. He earns enough money to pay his reasonable rent, but his short-term thinking and chronic need for instant gratification prevents him from having financial stability. I happen to know that he buys a huge amount of scratch-off lottery tickets and spends many evenings at bars racking up expensive bar tabs. These two discretionary pleasures are not affordable for his level of income. I have the impression that being evicted is still not jarring enough for him to begin evaluating and changing his behavior.
In contrast, the long-term thinkers that I know are generally far more financially successful. I do not think it is a coincidence that the person I know who evaluates the furthest into the future also has 3 fabulous homes. For him, short-term thinking is 10 years out and long-term thinking is 3 generations. For all of his travel, it is planned 1-2 years in advance. From his career, to child rearing, to investing, he considers everything that may occur over the next 10, 20, +30 years and more.
Sure there needs to be some balance and immediate rewards, but most people that I know are far too short-term in their decision-making. This is crippling when it comes to finances because time is your greatest asset. And if you spend all of your money on short-term gratification, then there won’t be any money for important long-term gratification. It is my advice that you consider moving your time-frame for decision-making much further into the future for all areas of your life; particularly your finances.