This article is by guest blogger Frugal Babe.

Somewhere recently I came across a quote that went something like this:

Never sacrifice what you want most for what you want right now.

This really resonated with me, as I think it can be applied to just about anything in life: money, exercise, diet, personal relationships, jobs, etc.

We all have things that are on our list of what we want most.  But we often let what we want now to get in the way.  My own list of what I want most looks something like this (in no particular order):

• To always have a strong relationship with my husband and son and with our extended family and friends
• To still be active and healthy when I’m 100
• To own our home free and clear as soon as possible
• To be able to weather whatever financial storms life might send our way

Since these are my priorities, I try to make them a part of my life every day.

I spend time with my husband and son, and make sure that I keep in close contact with the rest of my family and friends.  I exercise every day, and make sure that pretty much every bite of food that passes my lips is increasing my chances of reaching that 100 year mark.  We put extra money towards our mortgage every month.  We set aside a good chunk of our income each month into various savings accounts, continuing to keep our lifestyle pretty much the way it was when we were earning very little money.

By doing these things, we’re keeping our focus on what we want most, rather than on what we might want at the moment.

Over the years, I’ve found that focusing on what we want most has become a habit.  So much so that what we want right now and what we want most are almost always the same thing.

I derive much more satisfaction from sending extra money towards our mortgage than I would from spending that money on a pair of shoes, for example.  And I much prefer an apple to a piece of cake – seriously!  (That took a while — I used to have a raging sweet tooth.)

The thing I love most about the little piece of wisdom at the top of the post is how it applies to anyone, no matter how different our goals might be.  One person’s strongest wish might be to become president of her company, while another person’s greatest desire might be to climb Mount Everest.

It doesn’t matter what we want.  What matters is that we each know what we want, and focus on it, without letting day-to-day distractions and fleeting desires get in the way.

I found this quote inspiring, and I hope some of you do too.  If it inspires you to write down the things that you want most, and figure out strategies for getting them, even better!

Frugal Babe is a 31-year-old mother and wife, living in a small American town. She works part-time from home, but spends most of her time taking care of her family, gardening, finding ways to simplify and enjoy life, and stretching money as far as it will go. She loves to create nutritious meals for her family, and places a lot of importance on minimizing her environmental impact, but she tries to do both without spending a lot of money.

Photo credit: Jenny Carden

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