4 Steps to Quit Saving Money for the Wrong Reasons

For the last three years I’ve been using my wheelchair as a desk chair in my office. It’s not comfortable, not even a little. I’m practical and it just seemed that having one wheeled chair was enough. I put up with it creating more pain than I already have. Silly, I know, but I’m stubborn. On Saturday I suddenly couldn’t take it anymore. My husband kindly raced off with me to Office Depot to buy a new chair.

The first office chair that we saw of course was the fancy, schmancy (aka overpriced) featured new “executive chair.” I looked at the price tag and flatly said, “Ha! No way would I pay that much for a desk chair!” So I plopped down in another nearby puffy looking chair…and then another…and then another until I had paused my half-amputated bum on every seating solution in the store. None of them solved the problem of my painful posterior. Finally, I reluctantly sat in the fancy chair. “Oh geez!” I exclaimed with exasperation. My husband calmly replied, “We’re buying that chair, aren’t we?”

Have you ever tried to avoid spending money in your business, only to eventually come to the reluctant realization that you were creating more trouble than you solved? Use my office chair story as a lesson to help you avoid creating a bigger pain in the butt in your business. Follow these four steps to quit saving money for the wrong reasons.

1 – If a work-around or makeshift solution isn’t working, don’t try to get used to it. Move on to a well-fitting solution quickly and avoid wasting your energy on just making do.

2 – Don’t quickly throw money at a solution either. Just because it’s new, shiny, and easily available doesn’t mean that you should skip the step of conducting a proper due diligence.

3 – Be clear about what you need and be decisive. If the solution you are considering doesn’t meet your needs, recognize it quickly and move on to vetting another option.

4 – Be willing to spend the money for the right solution when you find it. Sometimes saving money in the short term will only cost you in the long term if it was never right in the beginning.

As I type this, I’m sitting in my new, very comfortable office chair. It actually makes me happy to sit at my desk! How much more productive do you think I can be when sitting in my office isn’t painful? I’d say a lot! How much more productive can you be when you replace an irritating makeshift fix with an elegant, perfectly fitting solution? Business doesn’t have to feel like a pain in the butt. When you put the right solution into action as quickly as possible you’ll be amazed at how good spending money for the right reasons can feel.

I’m a ‘half-assed’ leadership expert, whole-hearted connector and resilience diva.

I work with and speak for organizations who want a devoted cast of staff and patrons…even when life hits them like a truck.

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