Something I want to introduce is a personal mental model that I am working on called Perceived Urgency Reduction. This framework helps me manage the pressure to make immediate spending decisions by recognizing that there will always be more opportunities and resources available in the future.
I am sharing it here because it might be helpful to you as well. Viewing spending decisions through this lens can reduce the sense of urgency that often drives impulsive behavior. By understanding that experiences and purchases will not disappear forever, our financial choices can be approached with greater deliberation.
Here is an example of it being in action in my day to day life. My teenager and I had spent the day in Seattle yesterday where we went to see the Titanic exhibition.
After waiting months and an early purchase of tickets it was worth every dollar. We then went to Whole Foods and bought our favorite treats, which we only get once in a blue moon when we go to Seattle, which is not often.
Heading back the bus stop after a long day of walking we found the bus stop had been closed and we ended up chatting with someone who also happened to be waiting for the same bus.
Long story short finding out we live near of each other in the same city- he ended up suggesting I go the food festival and that he would be going with his partner.
So, today, after finishing some class assignments, the teen and I visited the food festival at our local park that featured a variety of ethnic cuisines—Filipino, Hawaiian, African, Chinese, and all kinds of food. (Unfortunately we didn’t run into them and missed out on having another potential conversation on investing and life in general.)
We were still full from yesterday, yet in that moment everything sounded good, and the feeling of needing to enjoy the experiences of rare dishes in our town began to nag at me but after sitting on a bench, taking everything in, the smells, the music, laughter and voices from happy families, we came to the conclusion we didn’t need nor want anything.
We went straight to the grocery store for our usual staples, which was our next stop on our to-do list for the day. As I walked across the street towards to our local grocery store, it hit me that there will always be money to be spent and always something to be bought and experiences will always come just as they went.
When you look at things like that, you realize the urgency of something being high-stake in the moment of an experience—fear you may not get the experience again or may not get it often isn’t that high of a stake. It becomes clear that there’s always going to be something to be bought and money to be spent and that it is okay to skip out on short term experiences that seem urgent.
Understanding that, you realize there really is no urgency in living in the moment as if it’s your last at all times hence the mental model I call the Perceived Urgency Reduction – reducing what seems urgent or high stakes when it comes to disrupting tomorrows financial gain.
By adopting this mental model, we can lead to more thoughtful spending and a healthier financial mindset. This perspective helps us take a step back and make decisions based on actual desire and necessity rather than the fear of missing out.
Embracing the idea that there will always be future opportunities allows us to reduce the pressure to act impulsively and make more balanced choices no matter where we are or who we are around. This is not to say life should be taken for granted, but rather to breathe during the moments of life’s intensity and finding a balance.
The Broke College Student 
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